Psalm Reflection: The Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

“Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.” - Psalms 92

When I was in high school, I was heavily involved in theater. I was in every single production during those four years, and at the end of the school year we had an awards gathering and celebration called Big Tarp.

One year at Big Tarp, I received the Sarah Potts award, which was named for the only other student who had done what I did: walk right off of the edge of the stage.

It was a theater work day where we would build, paint, and decorate the set as a cast and crew. I was backing up to look at the work we had done so far, unaware of the fact that the front section of the stage had just been lowered to become an orchestra pit, and I walked right off of the edge.

Have you ever felt like the floor was swept out from under you? 

Have you ever had the experience of going from a life of stability to everything being pulled out from under you in an instant?

It makes me think of the many individuals and families who recently lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires. One day, everything was going great. The next day, everything they owned was gone. One interviewer was talking to a husband and a wife who had lost everything in the fires, and the husband looked at his wife and said something like, “we would not have been able to take any of this with us when we die, so this is good practice for us to let go and focus on what really matters.”

We can get so attached to our possessions, our plans, our routines, and the luxuries we enjoy that we lose sight of what matters most. We can fail to recognize that the only reason we have anything we do is because God has given it to us. Despite the fact that we constantly reject and turn away from God, He pours out undeserved gifts and blessings into our lives every single day.

Everything we have is a gift. We cannot take any of it with us. Instead we are called to focus on how we can use what we have to bless others, and to not allow our attachments to things to overshadow our relationships and our ultimate purpose in life.

This is why having a regular practice of gratitude is so necessary and powerful. The Psalmist reminds us this Sunday, “Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.” And it is good. It is good because gratitude helps us look at life from a perspective of abundance rather than scarcity. Instead of focusing on everything we do not have or that we would like to be different, we are constantly aware of all we still have that God has blessed us with.

How do you give thanks to the Lord? How often?

Do you thank him in general, or do you pinpoint specific instances every day that you want to give thanks for?

If I always tell my wife she is great, or thank her generally for all she does, she will still appreciate it, but the words will likely lose their emphasis after a while. However, if every day I look at her and tell her something specific she did that was amazing or that I am thankful for, she is going to see that I am making the effort to consistently recognize all she does and the depth of my love and gratitude for her will have more of an impact on her and on our marriage. The same thing is true with the Lord.

We thank the Lord all the time, but usually for the same things over and over again, and usually because we secretly hope He will not change them or take them away. We thank Him in broad statements about the whole of our life. 

Instead, thank the Lord every day for the unique ways you experienced His love and blessings. If it is your family, then what specifically about your time with your family that day are you grateful for? If it is your job, then what specifically about your job are you grateful for that day? Be specific, because God loves you specifically and is seeking to bless you in new ways every day. He never runs out of energy or grand gestures to communicate His love for you. Show Him some love in return by acknowledging all He has done for you today.

If and when the rug of life gets pulled out from under you and you fall down, you will already be looking for the divine hand of blessing reaching down to pick you up and remind you of everything you still have. You never know what good and what rewards can come, even in the midst of the greatest falls.

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, March 2nd, 2025, The Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C: Psalms 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16.