I praise you lord, for you raised me up
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
Lord, you brought my soul up from Sheol;
you let me live, from going down to the pit.
Sing praise to the Lord, you faithful;
give thanks to his holy memory.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
his favor a lifetime.
At dusk weeping comes for the night;
but at dawn there is rejoicing.
Hear, O Lord, have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
you took off my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness.
So that my glory may praise you
and not be silent.
O Lord, my God,
forever will I give you thanks.
Psalm 30 comes to us from King David, thanking God for delivering him from suffering and not allowing his enemies to triumph over him. He tells us of his times of sadness and mourning, transformed by the mercy of God. He ends this passage vowing to praise God forever.
My favorite section of this psalm is verses 5-6 because it highlights the depth of God’s grace and mercy:
Sing praise to the Lord, you faithful;
give thanks to his holy memory.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
his favor a lifetime.
No matter what faith tradition you hail from, whether you believe in the practice of confessing your sins aloud or to another person – I’m sure there are things you’ve done or neglected to do in life that nag at you. Things that you feel ashamed of, upset over. The beauty of the sacrament of reconciliation, or confession as it is sometimes called, is that God already knows all of those things. God knows everything we’ve done, thought, said, and every time we’ve failed to act in the way we should.
Confession is more about addressing our behavior to ourselves, and acknowledging that we fell short of God’s expectations. The sooner we come to terms with that fact, the sooner we can move forward with the knowledge and experience to hopefully not repeat those actions we’ve come to regret. Like King David, we can find joy in the freedom and relief of acknowledging our sins and making things right. God may be angry with us in those moments when we fall short, but he also knows our hearts and forgives us.
Prayer: God, it’s often easier to ignore or push away the thought that I’ve done something wrong. I sometimes find myself holding on to these negative things, instead of acknowledging my faults and trying to mend what was broken. But I know that I push myself further from you when I do this. Build in me the capacity for thoughtful introspection and accountability, so that I can continue to find joy and freedom in life by aligning my thoughts and actions with your will. These things we pray through Christ our Lord, amen.
Evolving Ecclesia 