The Lord takes delight in us every time we surrender to a deeper conversion in following Him
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
There are four “we” passages in the Acts of the Apostles — passages in which St. Luke slips from talking about what “they” did to talking about what “we” did. That shift may indicate that Luke himself was part of some of St. Paul’s missionary journeys.
I mention that for two reasons. The first is that we read one of the “we” passages this week. The opening line of the first reading this week is, “We set sail from Troas” (Acts 16:11). The second is that the shift from “they” to “we” provides a helpful way to read the Psalms — one that can be really fruitful for our life of discipleship. How does it work?
Consider May 11, when we read Psalm 149. We’ve just finished reading about St. Paul’s visit to Macedonia, his encounter with the businesswoman Lydia and the conversion of Lydia and her whole household to the faith. Then Psalm 149 has us repeating this refrain: “The Lord takes delight in His people.”
The first and most natural way to read that is: The Lord takes delight in Lydia, who is now a member of His people. But we can and should extend that to include the thought that the Lord takes delight in us every time we surrender to a deeper conversion in following Him. We are among His people, and we become even more deeply His people, and He delights in us. That’s how the shift from “they” to “we” works in reading the psalm.
The same thing happens on May 12, when we read Psalm 138. We’ve just finished reading about how the Lord protected St. Paul in the jail in Philippi, and how the jailer and his whole household were baptized into the faith. Then Psalm 138 has us repeating this refrain: “Your right hand saves me, O Lord.”
The first and most natural way to read that is in reference to St. Paul, and to the jailer and his household. And that is a correct and fruitful reading! But we can and should extend that to include the ways the Lord reaches out in His power to protect us — and we can pray for whatever we want to lift up to His protection. In that way, we make the shift from “they” to “we” in praying the psalm.
The same thing happens on May 14 when we celebrate the feast of St. Matthias and pray with Psalm 113. We’ve just read about how Matthias was chosen to replace Judas as one of the 12. The concluding lines of the Psalm have us saying: “He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor, to seat them with princes, with the princes of his own people.”
That applies most immediately and obviously to the elevation of St. Matthias. But it can also apply to each of us, in the places where we are lowly and need God to lift us up and restore our status as adopted sons and daughters of the king.
You’ll notice I left out May 13. That’s because it doesn’t always work! I’m not saying it does. What I’m saying is: It often does, and when it does, it’s a really fruitful way to pray with the Psalms.
