Responsorial Psalm for Saturday
From Psalm 67:
R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
The earth has yielded its fruits;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
All through Scripture we see a dilemma facing Israel: they were God’s especially chosen people, supposed to be a light to everyone else, but mixing with everyone else corrupted them, and no one was enlightened. On the other hand, they found it impossible, in practice, to exclude everyone else and be the pure community they needed to become.
One of the reasons this runs all through Scripture is because we, Christians, face the same dilemma. We have additional advantages in Christ and the activity of the Holy Spirit–but we are also supposed to be brighter lights, living the Sermon on the Mount, etc. All of that is worth pondering and praying over at considerable length!