Psalm Reflection: The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A

“Give the Lord glory and honor.” - Psalms 96

If you do a simple image search online using the word honor you will find, after filtering out the images of a cell phone with the same name, images depicting valor, heroism and victory in battle. The flags, soldiers, and medals you will see seem to invoke the idea of a war. And, brothers and sisters, whether you realize it or not, there is currently a battle raging for your very life and soul.

The Good News is that Jesus won that battle by dying for our sins and rising from the dead, literally overcoming death itself for us (1 Corinthians 15:54-58). He hints at this before His death when He institutes the Church and tells Peter as its’ first leader that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Gates are defensive, not offensive, implying that it is the Church, the Body of Christ, who will be waging the attack against sin and death, and that nothing with prevail against His Body.

However, in order to claim His victory for ourselves, we have to accept the gift of salvation Jesus won for us and give God the honor and glory He is due. Imagine being in a battle and getting captured behind enemy lines. If your side wins the war it makes no difference to you until you are free and can experience that victory firsthand. Sin imprisons us and prevents us from experiencing that victory. Perhaps we do not see God as worthy of glory or honor because we have never allowed Him to set us free from the confines of our own unfaithfulness. That is the unique thing about a spiritual battle: in a physical battle we must fight in order to be successful, but in a spiritual battle we must surrender in order to win, because it is the Lord who fights for us (Exodus 14:14).

What prevents you from experiencing joy and freedom?

How have you experienced sin as a prison?

Where are you still fighting? How can you surrender completely to the Lord?

It seems counterintuitive, but in order to win the war we have to give up. If we want to experience the glory and honor of God defeating sin and death, we must surrender to Him and let Him set us free, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

If you want to give honor and glory to God, allow His victory to shine through you. 

Be a witness to the transformative power of God.

Allow the love, mercy and forgiveness of God to change you in a real, visible way.

Then, and only then, will we be able to truly give God honor and glory, because we will be a walking symbol of His victory.

Do others look at your life and see God’s handiwork?

How is your behavior and lifestyle different because of your relationship with God? How does it still need to change?

Who in your life needs to hear the message of God’s victory and be invited to receive it for themselves?

Jesus commissioned the disciples, and by extension all of us, when He said:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” - Matthew 18:19-20

We can only do this because of what Jesus says directly before this: 

“Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” - Matthew 28:18

It is only because of God’s power, glory and honor that we can experience freedom and share that gift with others. As Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians:

“I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.” - Philippians 4:13

With the freedom of Christ’s victory, there is no battle He cannot win in us and through us. So, brothers and sisters, do not be discouraged. No one will ever be converted by a Christian in despair. It is only through our joy and freedom that others will be inclined to pursue God in His majesty, honor, power, and glory.

So, give the Lord glory and honor He is due every day by the way you live your life.

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

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, October 22nd, 2023, which is The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A: Psalms 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10.