Ps 102 Commentary for Sunday 7A
Psalm 102 (103) Commentary 2
Our weekend liturgy selects 8 verses from the 22 in Psalm 102. It has a significant framework in that it begins and ends with the exhortation, “Bless the Lord my soul!” This act of blessing of course is not a top-down action of the psalmist. There is an inner meaning of the Hebrew word used here for “Bless”. It suggests an act of kneeling in praise. Moreover, there is a suggestion that it is a woman who has composed this song: the words “you” and “yours” are all feminine. The word hereb for God’s compassion is quite visceral: the seat of the emotions is the womb or the bowels, a “gut” feeling of loving care. The reasons for blessing God are expressed in a soaring list of verbs: God is someone who “forgives, heals, redeems, crowns and satisfies”. That word “redeems” recalls the ancient law of the right of a woman to have a child: if her husband dies before any child is born then a kinsman-redeemer has to conceive for her. Another feminine reference.
The psalmist declares that if you want to know one thing about God, it is this: “The Lord is compassion and love!” God’s steadfast love and mercy is like that of a parent for a child. Those two words “father” and “compassion” are even more amazing today when we consider this father to be the creator of the enormous universe with its twenty or thirty trillion galaxies! The God of this psalm is not remote and impersonal: God reaches in and touches each one of us personally with compassion and love! God’s mercy is mentioned four times in this short psalm!
And God does not ruminate on our misdeeds or nurse any grievances as we may be tempted to do. This echoes the first reading’s command, “You must not bear hatred in your heart!” And the psalm leads into the Gospel where Jesus goes an amazing step ahead, as asking us to forgive even enemies!
In the context of our psalm, Pope Francis often reminds us of this compassion: he says, “Compassion is the language spoken by God and the lens through which God looks at us”. Psalm 102 should surely cheer us up during the dark days of winter and beyond!
Commentary by. Dr Noel Donnelly
