Psalm Reflection: The Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” - Psalms 23

I got dumped.

I got dumped the day before Valentine’s day.

Not only that, I got dumped the day before Valentine’s day in a direct message on Myspace.

It was brutal.

Thankfully, that led to me later meeting my wife, so praise the Lord! Nevertheless, breakups are always difficult. Even if the decision is mutual or the situation was very healthy, there is always a sense of loss, discouragement, or sadness.

We all have an inherent existential longing for belonging. We were not made to be alone and we actively seek out community, and when we do not seek it out or find it there are obvious negative side effects.

As I was reflecting on this Sunday’s Psalm response from the most famous of all the Psalms, and one I have written reflections for a half-dozen times, I was drawn to one word.

my.

The Lord is my shepherd.

He is mine and I am His.

That sense of relationship and belonging to the Lord surpasses any human relationship, even marriage. That is how intimately united the Lord desires to be to you.

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name: you are mine.

When you pass through waters, I will be with you;

through rivers, you shall not be swept away.

When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,

nor will flames consume you.

For I, the LORD, am your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your savior (Isaiah 43:1-3).

And you do not have to worry about being dumped. The Lord will never tire of pursuing you. He is always faithful, even when we are unfaithful. And when we are unfaithful, He is always ready to forgive us if we come back to Him with contrite hearts. There is no love in existence that is more sure, secure, and abundant than the love the Lord has for you.

God does not simply love all of us. He also loves you, individually, personally, and specifically, in a unique and unrepeatable way. He wants a personal relationship with you, and that is not a cookie-cutter relationship that can only be had or experienced one way. This Sunday’s Psalm invites us to get to know the Lord in the unique way He loves us and develop a special, unrepeatable relationship with Him.

You will not find what the Lord can offer you anywhere else.

The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for... (CCC 27).

The Devil tries to convince us that we are not worthy of this kind of love and relationship. He lies and tells us our sins are too great, too disturbing, too numerous, too heinous for the Lord to love us, forgive us, or use us in any meaningful way.

Brothers and sisters, this Psalm invites us to dispel those lies and reclaim what the Devil stole but is rightfully ours: perfect union and relationship with the Lord.

He is yours and you are His.

Nothing in life is more profound and meaningful than that, but, in believing it, everything else also becomes more profound and meaningful. 

How have you been treating your beloved?

Where do you need to prioritize your relationship more?

Where do you need to seek forgiveness and reconciliation?

What are you holding back?

Nothing has the power to defeat or overcome the love that the Lord has for you, unless you let it happen. 

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).

This week, lean into the unending love the Lord has for you.

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, July 21st, 2024, which is the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B: Psalms  23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6.