Psalm Reflection: The Second Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy - Cycle B

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.” - Psalms 118

History was my favorite subject in school.

In middle school I memorized every President of the United States and the years of their presidential term for extra credit. I loved exploring museums, making timelines, examining old maps, and committing historical dates to memory.

That all changed my Junior year of high school.

I only took one Advanced Placement (AP) class in high school, and it was AP U.S. History at 7:05am every morning my Junior year. I was barely alive and hardly awake as we spent an obscene amount of time learning about the Federalist papers, and a lot of other things I do not remember. Soon after starting this class, all of my passion, zeal, and enthusiasm for history disappeared and I was completely and utterly bored.

That is how we are with most things. A new show, hobby, restaurant, relationship, or experience is always exciting in the beginning, but as time goes on they end up losing their appeal and things become stale, routine, and unexciting.

We get bored. 

God does not.

Our love is fleeting.

His love is eternal.

As the Psalmist proclaims: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.”

God’s love is not a momentary flash of passion and excitement that wanes with time as He slowly realizes how selfish and annoying we are. He already knows that and loves us nonetheless.

God’s love is like the love of a parent at the birth of their child, or the love of a groom on His wedding day. Although we experience those same things, it is easy for us to forget the feelings we experienced in those moments when our marriage becomes rocky and difficult, or when are children are screaming at us.

We have those experiences of complete love and joy in a moment and then they moves further into the past. That love wanes, changes and requires more effort to maintain over time. God experiences love and time differently. God is equally present to every moment—past, present, and future—all at once, living in an eternal now.

“To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy.” - CCC 600

Those surges of passion and love we experience momentarily that fade with time are God’s constant unchanging reality, because God is love itself.

“Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.” - 1 John 4:8

And as His children, who are made in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27), we are called to be physical embodiments of His love on earth. We need to be conscious of how fleeting our love can be, and seek to love in the way that God loves.

The best litmus test for a Christian’s love is in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, where he describes love saying, “love is patient, love is kind, etc.” as you have likely heard as a reading at most weddings you have been to. This passage, however, is also an invitation for us to consider if we are loving in the way we are called to love.

I invite you to pray with this passage and to insert your own name in place of the word “love.” As you read it, ask yourself if these statements are true about yourself or not:

_____ is patient

_____ is kind

_____ is not jealous

_____ is not pompous

_____ is not inflated

_____ is not rude

_____ does not seek their own interests 

_____ is not quick-tempered

_____ does not brood over injury 

_____ does not rejoice over wrongdoing 

_____ rejoices with the truth

_____ bears all things

_____ believes in all things

_____ hopes in all things

_____ endures all things

_____ never fails

(adapted from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Which of these was most convicting or challenging? 

Where is the Lord inviting you to love like Him?

We will never do these perfectly in this life, because we are not God. Nevertheless, we can let this Easter season be an invitation for us to experience to joy of the Father’s love for us, that He would send His Son Jesus to die and rise for our sins, and we can let that love pour out of us into others.

Our love is fleeting.

His love is eternal.

Let’s be more like Him this Easter.

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

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, April 7th, 2024, which is The Second Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy - Cycle B: Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24.