psalm 8, who am I? tuesday 1st week

Today we reflect on Psalm 8, our Responsorial Psalm today.  Psalm 8 speaks to us a very basic truth in our lives, a basic truth which we should always put into consideration in our relationship with God, with the world and with each other.  "What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him?  You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor.  You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet."

First, what is your relationship with God because of Psalm 8?  The psalmist asks what is man, ano gid ako, sin-o gid ako why should be mindful of me, why give me the 10 commandments in order that I can live a righteous life, why promise me life everlasting, why do you care about my well-being not just in this life but even in the next, why do you have to send your only begotten Son to die for me and save me from eternal damnation, why do you have to go through all these difficulties, why go to all the trouble just for me?  Why?

Psalm 8 wondered about that.  Do you?

You know it is important to ask the question "who am I" before we embark on anything else.  It is important to be clear about our basic identity first before we attach other labels, other marks of identity to ourselves.  Before you are a successful businessman who are you, before you are a wonderful singer who are you, before you are rich who are you.  Who are you even if you are no longer rich, even if you are no longer wonderful, even if you are no longer successful?  What is man that you should be mindful of him?  Psalm 8 has to have an answer.

Second, what is your relationship with the world because of psalm 8?  "You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet."  In the world we were given the power to rule over the work of God's hands, to have dominion over all creation.  Having dominion does not mean exploitation.  Dominion means to take care of our surroundings, to take care of the earth.  Be responsible – if your car is a smoke belcher then we have to have it repaired.  Don't just throw trash anywhere.  Learn to reuse, to recycle.

Another thing is this:  God told us to use things and love people.  But when we begun to love things and use people instead, sin entered our lives and made the world less peaceful.  So use your ipod and love people, not the other way around.

Third and last.  What is your relationship with other people because of psalm 8?  "You have made man little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor."  Every person is the way psalm 8 says he is.  He may be a saint, he may be a sinner, he may be man, a woman, an LGBT, he may be a criminal, a drug addict, or rich man, or poor man, or a person in his right mind or a person not in his right mind.  He may be an employer or an employee.  He may be stupid or brilliant, he may be a priest or a lay person.  He may be a person so innocent or a person who made so many mistakes in his life and continues to do so.  Whatever he is, he is as psalm 8 says he is.  You cannot change that fact.  "You have made man little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor."  We have no right to take away human life.