26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Written by Steven Joubert
How great is the mercy of God? Infinity is a hard thing to grasp. As you try to think of something that is infinite, you might also be trying to consider something like eternity. I’m sure you’ve heard the various expressions used to attempt to describe eternity, things like “The time it would take you to move every grain of sand from Florida to California would only begin your first day of Eternity.” You may not have heard that expression in particular, but if you were a youth group kid you probably heard some version of it. Basically, the notion is, that it is simply beyond. Whatever quantity you are thinking of, that is where infinity begins. Infinity is so hard to grasp, calling it a quantity is a disservice to the notion of what it is.
Our Psalm today is Psalm 25 verses 4-9. The selection as a whole is a set of petitions for deliverance and guidance. Both are iterations of God’s mercy. Instinctively when I think of mercy, I usually limit it to the sphere of forgiveness. However Mercy, in particular God’s Mercy, is so much bigger than that. The psalm says, “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me, teach me your paths…” and God does. The whole of the deposit of faith is God’s merciful action towards us. Yes, God’s mercy is His forgiveness purchased for us at the great price of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. But also, the faith that we profess is a merciful action on the behalf of God.
Humanity was lost. We are sinners. We don’t deserve to know the ways of the Lord. In fact, the petition to tell God to “Teach us his ways” is sort of bold prayer in itself. God doesn’t have to reveal anything to us. We aren't in a position to negotiate. We have no bargaining power. But that’s God’s mercy. He doesn’t bargain, he simply gives. Teaching us by the power of the Paschal Mystery, how to be human. God in His great mercy gives us the Way to eternal life. He gives us Christ. He gives us Himself. He gives us the Church. He gives us the Mass. He gives us His Word. When we begin to see how lowly we are as His fallen children, we also begin to unpack how great His mercy is and how much God really loves us.
Steven Joubert is a high school campus minister in Florida. He is a singer-songwriter and NOVUM RECORDS artist. You can find his music on Spotify, Apple Music, and/or wherever you stream your music. To keep up with Steven, follow him on Instagram.
Pray with today’s psalm.