Of David. A maskil.
I
Blessed is the one whose fault is removed,
whose sin is forgiven.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no deceit.
II
Because I kept silent, my bones wasted away;
I groaned all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength withered as in dry summer heat.
Then I declared my sin to you;
my guilt I did not hide.
I said, “I confess my transgression to the Lord,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
Therefore every loyal person should pray to you
in time of distress.
Though flood waters threaten,
they will never reach him.
You are my shelter; you guard me from distress;
with joyful shouts of deliverance you surround me.
III
I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk,
give you counsel with my eye upon you.
Do not be like a horse or mule, without understanding;
with bit and bridle their temper is curbed,
else they will not come to you.
IV
Many are the sorrows of the wicked one,
but mercy surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
exult, all you upright of heart.
Psalms 32:1-11
I love that this psalm illustrates God’s beautiful mercy and forgiveness. It is always good to acknowledge our own sinfulness and then turn it over to God, begging for forgiveness.
Just this Sunday, we heard the version of the Beatitudes in Luke’s Gospel, and Father Graham highlighted that aspect of the message for us. Certainly, Luke’s version differs in some significant ways from the more familiar one in Matthew’s Gospel. I liked how Father keyed in on some of those differences and what they mean for us.
The biggest idea that still stands out in my mind is about a subtle difference in the wording. Of course, we are used to Matthew’s “Blessed are they…” language, so that Jesus is telling us about other people, who probably aren’t even with us right now. In contrast, Luke’s Gospel says, “Blessed are you who are…” and later, “woe to you who are…” This paints a picture of Jesus speaking to the people who are right there in the crowd of disciples.
The poor, the hungry, and those who are weeping could be us, and if not, they are certainly in our very midst. We can’t ignore them. Furthermore, “woe to” us if we do. We have to be careful, lest we get too comfortable, too proud of ourselves …lest we see ourselves as better than or different than the poor, the hungry, and those who are weeping.
But Jesus came for all of us, to heal us physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. The psalmist recounts the difficulties he experienced when he did not trust in the Lord. Then he turned to God, admitted his sinfulness, and begged for forgiveness, which turned everything around for him.
So let’s remember that Jesus came to save everyone in the world, and we all need it in some way. We are all broken and need God’s forgiveness, and we cannot ignore the needy all around us. Jesus points them out to us in Luke’s Gospel, and as Father pointed out so clearly at mass on Sunday, we can choose to do whatever is within our power to help them, …or not.
Remember the words of the psalmist, “Many are the sorrows of the wicked one, but mercy surrounds the one who trusts int he Lord.” Amen!