Psalm Reflection: The Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

"The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.” - Psalm 98

I love a good mystery.

Whether it is an escape room, a murder mystery, cracking a code, listening to true crime podcasts, or watching shows like CSI or Law & Order and trying to guess the ending before it happens, I love them all.

One of my favorite categories or themes of these are those associated with Sherlock Holmes. Holmes does not magically receive an answer in some supernatural way. Rather, he picks up on the smallest of details and is able to deduce things that no one else can. He looks at the same evidence everyone else does, but is able to see it and put it all together in a way those around him cannot.

Thankfully, when it comes to God, you do not need to be Sherlock Holmes.

We all have the same evidence around us: Creation, the Human person and the Revelation of God through Jesus Christ. Though we may have varying degrees of understanding of physics, history, biology, philosophy, theology and Scripture, humans throughout history have arrived at a knowledge of God simply by looking around at the evidence and considering it carefully, regardless of their level of knowledge or advancement.

As I read the Psalm for this Sunday, I thought about how God has revealed Himself to us in so many ways and I was prompted to ask myself:

What more does God need to do to prove Himself to us?

We can look around us at the created order of our world despite being in a universe that should be marked by chaos as it began with an incredible explosion. We can look to science that tells us the universe as we know it had a definite beginning (the BVG Theorem), and ask:

If there was a beginning, who or what was the Beginner?

We can look at humanity and our common desires for love, belonging, truth, goodness and beauty. We can recognize our inherent awareness of our own dignity and ask:

Where did this sense of worth come from? (Genesis 1:26-27)

Not only that, the Creator of the Universe, who wills us into existence and created each one of us, revealed Himself to the Jewish people and then became one of us in the fullness of His revelation in Jesus Christ, a real person of history who claimed to be God and proved it by rising from the dead. 

What more does God need to do to prove Himself to us?

Do you struggle with faith in God and believing that He is real? The evidence is not lacking. So, something in us must be lacking. Perhaps it is fear, a difficulty we have with trust, or a need we have to feel in control. Whatever it is, the Psalm for this Sunday challenges us to ask: 

What is in the way of seeing the evidence that is in front of us and taking it seriously?

Do I really believe in God? 

If so, do I live like I do? 

If not, why? Do these doubts or challenges I have actually change the evidence that remains all around me?

What more does God need to do to prove Himself to me?

God has revealed Himself in a way that has changed and shaped all of human history, society and culture since He walked this earth. There is no other religion whose founder has had even a remotely similar effect. 

God has given us everything we need to know Him, and just enough to still require faith on our part. 

What is still standing in your way?

What are you going to do about it?

This week, take some time to notice the signs of God’s love and existence all around you. 

Look up at the night sky and reflect on how small we are.

See the complexity and order of creation around you.

Appreciate the miracle of your life and the lives or those you know and love.

Think about all the blessings in your own life.

Think about times you have experienced real love, peace, joy, community and laughter.

Recognize within you the desires you have for more love, belonging, truth, goodness, and beauty.

God is in all of it, loving you and desiring you to love Him in return.

All attempts at real love bring forth doubt: cold feet in preparing for marriage, fear and anxiety in becoming a parent, feeling over our heads in new jobs or life stages, and even when we approach God.

Our job is to not get rid of the doubt and fear, but to acknowledge it and to move forward in love and faith anyway. 

How can you do that in your own life this week?

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

Matt