Psalm Reflection: The Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

“Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.” - Psalm 69

Funerals are about life.

When we go to a funeral, we focus on the life the person led and the eternal life they are now being welcomed into. We mourn, yes, but we gather to celebrate the legacy of this person so that we might remember them as we live on and seek to leave behind a fruitful legacy ourselves. We pray for them that they might have eternal life.

Funerals are about life, but weddings are about death.

At weddings, we also hear about the lives on the bride and groom, how they met, and the life they want to create together. However, none of that is possible or makes any sense unless they are both ready and willing to die. 

To love someone means we are willing to sacrifice for them. 

To love someone means we are willing to lay down our lives.

To love someone means we are willing to die to ourselves.

Look no further than the mission of Jesus, particularly embodied in the crucifix, and we see real, authentic love on display as a reminder of all that God has done for us.

Psalm 69 is often quoted in the New Testament, usually surrounding the persecution and suffering of Jesus. It is written as a lament and an appeal to God for justice in the face of false accusations and the suffering of the innocent. It includes a message of hope for vindication, but, as we see in the life of Jesus, that does not always come about in the way we might expect.

Jesus came to become king, but He did not do it by gaining popularity, raising an army and overthrowing Caesar like so many people thought the Messiah would. He did it by humbling Himself and dying on a cross (Philippians 2:5-11). It was incredibly unexpected, which is why so many refused to accept that Jesus was actually the Messiah; they were too attached to their own ideas to consider it.

Jesus came to give us new life: eternal life with Him forever. In order to truly receive it, we need to die.

In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are plunged into water as a symbol dying and rising anew.

In the Sacrament of Matrimony, a bride and groom lay down their lives for one another.

In the Sacrament of Holy Orders, a priest lays down his life for the Church.

In fact, all of the Sacraments involve an act of humbly laying aside our pride and responding to a call to live for the Lord. We give up our control and our plans in order to commit our lives to whatever God wants. In those sacrificial acts, we are invited into new life.

This week consider a small sacrifice you can make for others or for God. Fast from something you buy often in order to save money to offer to those in need. Make a sacrifice to help you break a bad habit or an addictive behavior. Say no to some things so you can finally start having time to say yes to the things that matter most.

Whatever it is, find a way to die this week. And then, keep doing it over and over again, because God loved us enough to do it for us.

I am praying for you this week, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt