Psalm Reflection: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - Cycle A

“Glory and praise for ever!” - Daniel 3:52-56

Before I was in ministry, I was chef. 

Early on in the kitchen, I picked up a few tricks of the trade from my coworkers. One of which was to always carry superglue and yellow mustard with you in your knife bag. 

The superglue was in case you cut yourself, not as a permanent fix but to help you quickly seal the wound, clean up, sanitize, and put some extra gloves on to allow you to safely continue working if it was not too severe. 

The mustard was for burns. Surprisingly, putting yellow mustard on a burn cools it and reduces redness, blistering and swelling better than almost any other home remedy or medicinal treatment I have ever come across.

We got a lot of cuts and burns in the kitchen, but I always felt like burns were the worst. So, when I discovered this mustard trick I used it all the time. Mustard became the remedy for the unexpected pains and inconveniences of working around a lot of fire and heat in the kitchen.

In the spiritual life, praise is the mustard.

It is easy to praise when everything is going well and all of our plans seem to work out exactly as we hoped. 

It is easy to praise when we are comfortable and at peace.

It is easy to praise when there is so much bringing us joy.

But, when things go awry, we turn our praise into blame and direct our unrest and dissatisfaction toward God instead of trusting that all will be well again. God does not change (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8) but He is always doing new things (Isaiah 43:19). So, when our joy turns into grief, and when our abundance turns into loss, we must remember that the same God we found worthy of praise in the good times is still worthy of praise in the hard times.

The Responsorial Psalm this week is taken from Daniel chapter 3, where Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, (also called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) are thrown in a fiery hot furnace to die for refusing to worship the false gods of King Nebuchadnezzar. Instead of being burned in furnace, which had been turned up seven times higher than usual (Daniel 3:19), Scripture says that “they walked about in the flames, singing to God and blessing the Lord” (Daniel 3:24). This week’s Responsorial Psalm is taken from their song of praise (Daniel 3:52-90), before they miraculously emerge from the fire unscathed (Daniel 3:93-94).

Even when facing the pain of death, they did not compromise their faith and they continued to praise. We are called to do the same. So this week, praise God:

Praise God in advance, because He is working all things for our good (Romans 8:28)

Praise God in is the midst of struggle and difficulty, because He will provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Praise God when things do not work out, because He has a plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11)

Praise God in death, loss and grief, because He is God of the living (Mark 12:27)

Praise God in disappointment, because He has promised abundance (John 10:10)

Praise God in your loneliness, because He promised to always be with you (Matthew 28:20)

Praise God in your weakness, because it reminds you that you need a Savior (Romans 5:8-10)

Praise God even in your sin, because where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20-21)

Whatever is going on in your life right now, remember that God is still God and He is bigger than all of it:

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39).

There is no obstacle, difficulty, doubt, sin, regret, loss or worry so great that God cannot overcome for you. As the Gospel this Sunday reminds us, He loves you so much that He would rather die than spend eternity without you (John 3:16). Trust in the sacrificial and unending love God has for you, and let it always bring you to praise regardless of your circumstances, because He is worthy of all praise and will deliver you from whatever furnace you are thrown in and from whatever in your life is burning you.

Praise is the mustard.

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, June 4th, 2023, which is The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - Cycle A: Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56.