Psalm Reflection: The Fourth Sunday of Advent - Cycle B

"For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.” - Psalms 89

What is Heaven like?

Fluffy clouds and fat baby angels?

Riding unicorns on rainbow roads?

Maybe. Maybe not.

What we do know is that Heaven will be eternal praise. Think about all the instances in the Bible where God is given honor and glory “forever and ever.”

Hint: Tobit 8:5, Judith 15:10, Daniel 2:20, Romans 16:27, Galatians 1:5, Ephesians 3:21, Philippians 4:20, 1 Timothy 1:17, 2 Timothy 4:18, 1 Peter 4:11, Revelation 4:9-10, Revelation 5:13, Revelation 7:12, Revelation 11:15

In Heaven, we will forever be singing the goodness of the Lord. Singing is an act of creation and joy. Saint Augustine said that when we sing we pray twice, meaning that we are expressing our prayer in a deeper way. Music speaks a language that mere words alone cannot. Even when a person is off-key and singing their heart out at karaoke it can still produce joy and laughter. In The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, the creation of Narnia is described this way:

“In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. It was hardly a tune. But it was beyond comparison, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it…”

This echoes the words of the prophet Zephaniah: “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior, who will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, who will sing joyfully because of you, as on festival days” (Zephaniah 3:17-18)

God sings over us, and we are made in His image and likeness. We are made to sing His goodness and, in doing so, reflect His glory back to Him. Maybe you do not think you have a good voice, but you are still capable of praise. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory. By praise, the Spirit is joined to our spirits to bear witness that we are children of God, testifying to the only Son in whom we are adopted and by whom we glorify the Father. Praise embraces the other forms of prayer and carries them toward him who is its source and goal: the "one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist." – CCC 2639

Praise is the simple recognition of who God is, that He is worthy of praise, and offering it to Him freely because He deserves it. That is what all of us will be doing in Heaven, but you do not have to wait until Heaven to get started. We can begin to live in the experience of Heaven now by praising God every day, and in every circumstance.

As I may have shared before, one of my favorite words is “good.” In every situation that tests my patience or throws my plans into disarray, I try to make sure the very first word that comes to mind or comes out of my mouth is “good.”

I did something embarrassing. “Good, this will help me be humble.”

I lost my job. “Good, this is an opportunity to try something new.”

I made a mistake. “Good, this reminds me of how much I need Jesus.”

Absolutely every situation can be framed in a new perspective and lead us to praise. Praise in possible and necessary in every season, no matter the circumstances, because when we fail to praise God, we can too easily allow other things to fill the void where God should be in our hearts. There is a beautiful line in Desert Song by Hillsong Worship that reminds me of this:

All of my life

In every season

You are still God

I have a reason to sing

I have a reason to worship

 Take a moment to pray those words over your life, or even better: look up the song and proclaim it with your voice. Sing it out to the God of the universe who made you, loves you and is faithful to every promise He makes.

No other person, celebrity, lifestyle, sports team, hobby, career, or amount of money deserve our worship.

Only God is worthy of all praise.

Let us give God what He deserves.

Let us sing forever of the goodness of the Lord.

When we do that, we get a glimpse of Heaven on earth.

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, December 24th, 2023, which is The Fourth Sunday of Advent  - Cycle B: Psalms 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29.