psalm 113 - transcendent and immanent - 25th sunday C
We continue to allow our
responsorial psalm to lead us in our reflection this Sunday. Today we reflect on Psalm 113. Psalm 113 is called one of the Egyptian
Psalms for these are psalms that are sung to commemorate and thank God for the
freedom brought about by the Passover, the freedom from the bondage of
Egypt. As such the psalm begins and ends
with halleluyah.
But why this urgency
to praise God, why this command? Why be
insistent on praising God?
Two things.
First, in the psalm God who is to be praised is
described as “High above all nations; his glory is above the
heavens, he is enthroned on high.” All
are vertical images of God – sublime, heavenly, no one can equal, transcendent,
totally other. And yet the same psalm
describes God as looking down – he looks down, he stoops, he bends down low in
order to look and console the needy, sitting the poor in the company of
princes, hearing the cry of the barren and humiliated women. He stoops, he bends over to be near his
suffering people. And in Jesus this
bending over of God becomes a becoming one of us – God living among us. So you see the contrast - there above the
heavens, here on earth below; high up there, low down here. Transcendent – immanent. The two faces of God.
I remember the time when I had this disease which
made it difficult for me to walk. It was
a time when I felt useless as a priest.
I prayed to God for healing, for a miracle that would make me whole
again, I negotiated with God telling him I am your priest I need good legs,
good joints to bring you word and sacrament to the people. When nothing happened I came also to blaming
God, I am serving you and you could not even heal me, how is that?
I was appealing to the transcendent God, to the God
of miracles, to the God in the heavens so powerful just one word can change my
lot. But God wanted me to see his other
face in my struggle to understand his love in my own pain. That when I cry in pain God too is crying
with me; that God is also angry when I shout in anger because of my disability;
that God does not want me to suffer but when I do suffer he shares in my
suffering, he shares in my pain. How I
wished then that I had the faith of which Jesus said to say to that mountain
get out of the way, uproot yourself and it does. But I didn’t have that much faith
probably. But in that difficulty I came
to realize that with Jesus as my strength and at my side I had to learn to
climb mountains I cannot move. The two
faces of God – a God so powerful he can end suffering, and a God so loving he
chose to suffer for and with his people.
That is why the psalmist is insistent – you must
praise the Lord, Hallelu yah.
Second, the gospel
speaks of a world that is passing. One
day you are a manager, the next day you are pauper; one day you command people
to do the dirty work for you, the next day you dig ditches yourself; one day
you are so full of health, so in control, the next day you become sick, you
feel useless, you cannot even control your bladder. Everything is passing.
Like the manager in
the gospel it is probably time, while there is still time, to rethink our
priorities, to rethink what really matters, to consider what really counts.
It is said that St. Augustine
once asserted, God gave us people to love and things to use. With original sin
however things got muddled and we began using people and loving things instead.
Psalm 113 insists that
we praise God for he is going to build a better world where the poor can sit
with princes and the lowly are lifted from the dust. Probably it is time that in our own little
way, in our families, communities and places of work, we can begin again to
love and care for people and use things, instead of the other way around, and
so join God in ushering in this better world.
And so with Psalm 113,
I say and I insist, we must praise the Lord, hallelu yah. Amen.
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