Psalm Reflection: The Fifth Sunday of Easter - Cycle A

“Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.” - Psalm 33

We do not like talking about God’s judgment, but we all want God’s mercy. 

We get offended when others judge us, but we judge others on a daily basis.

We want justice when we are wronged, but we expect mercy and forgiveness when we wrong others.

We may even begin to think we have a right to God’s mercy because we go to Church and we are generally “good people”, but that is not true. 

We cannot earn God’s mercy.

The Psalm for this Sundays suggests that we cannot expect mercy when there is no trust.

Think back to the recent very public trial between celebrities Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Odds are that you watched parts of it or at least heard about it from someone, because it was everywhere.

The prevailing opinion from those that watched quickly became that Amber Heard was being dishonest. Whether it was her body language, her tone, or her testimony, she quickly became the guilty party in the court of public opinion, even though the public did not have the access or expertise t make such a decision. As a result, people said very derogatory and hurtful things about her online before a verdict was even reached. The public was unwilling to show her mercy, because there was no trust.

And yet, we expect to be treated differently by God even though we are guilty. We have all sinned and turned away from God (Romans 3:23). We are all guilty in some sense, but we often expect to be forgiven based on our merits. The truth is that the only reason we have any chance of being forgiven and shown mercy is because Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead to bring us the hope of eternal life.

Imagine being falsely accused of a crime and being brought before a judge and jury who were blatantly dishonest. Even though we knew we were innocent, we would not expect to be shown mercy. In the same way, if a defendant were being blatantly dishonest, there would be no expectation that the judge or jury would show them mercy.

So why do we expect God’s mercy? Because He is a good and just judge, and, despite our sinful, fallen nature, He stepped in to be the defendant and accept the punishment for our crimes. He gives us His mercy not because we are trustworthy, but because He is trustworthy.

Do you struggle with feelings of unworthiness, self-hatred or shame?

God does not see you that way. 

He looks at you and sees someone worth dying for. 

We may doubt in His mercy because we either do not trust Him, or we do not trust that He finds us worthy. The only way to overcome these doubts is to spend time with God in prayer, because trust only comes from relationship.

We do not automatically trust someone on a first date. We have our hesitations, we are looking for red flags, and we probably have a friend or two on stand-by in case we need to make a quick escape. Trust can only be built from spending time with one another and testing the waters through honest conversations and vulnerability.

Are you honest in prayer?

Are you vulnerable with God?

Do you trust Him?

Do you spend enough time with Him?

These questions can reveal powerful potential areas of growth in our spiritual lives if we are willing to invest the time and energy, like we would in any other relationship we want to deepen.

Jesus wants to take this relationship to the next level. Are you willing to put in the effort, be vulnerable, and build that trust with Him?

Only when we can trust God and trust that He loves us can we more fully experience His mercy.

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, May 7th, 2023, which is the Fifth Sunday of Easter - Cycle A: Psalms 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19