Daughter of the King

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, August 6th 2023:
Feast of the Transfiguration

Psalm 97

​R. The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.

The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 

​​R. The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.

​​R. The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.

For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

​​R. The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Reaching the top of the monkey bars I exclaimed: “I’m the king of the castle and you’re the dirty rascals!” 

Oh the carefree summers of my childhood! Wildly running around the playground with my friends; the first to race to the top of anything would make that proclamation, which would be followed by groans and laughter and then we’d start all over again. We thought little of the “king” of the playground castle because, well, we were self-proclaimed kings who did not wield any “real” power. 

The psalmist on the other hand speaks of a different king: the real King. Do we recognize God’s kingly power? Lately, I’m not sure I have. In many ways, I’ve taken God’s kingship for granted or I have forgotten what it means.

My understanding of kingship comes from books, movies, and shows that exemplify a king as yielding power over the people. Sometimes that power is for their good, and sometimes it takes a turn towards control, selfishness, and self-preservation. Documentaries highlight the lives of the kings of history: the good, the bad, and the ugly. In May, the world – including me – watched with curiosity and awe the pomp and circumstance around the coronation of King Charles III. 

Human kings are showy. God is not showy, at least not by human standards. God does not lord His power over us in a malicious way because we’re the “dirty rascals”. Rather, He uses His authority and real power to create things for our good. When I think about all the beauty and goodness He has created? That’s a real show! And God desires to be in relationship with all that He has created. He wants us to know Him. He wants us to know of His great love for us and His desire to transform our world, His Kingdom, through us. This is the difference: God yields great power and offers that same power to us. 

A few weeks ago a little girl came to Mass wearing a tiara. My friends and I “ooo”-ed and “ahhh”-ed as one does when confronted with such cuteness. And without hesitation or much thought I said: “She IS the daughter of a king!” If only I remembered that more often! We ARE daughters (and sons) of the King. God makes us royal. Our human sense of royalty is so different from the sense of royalty that God offers, which comes with the responsibility to care for one another and use our power for good. We are not simply God’s subjects. We are God’s instruments, empowered to build up the Kingdom of Heaven. We are co-creators of this world because we were created out of goodness, to be good and to do good, so that the world can become good.

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time I dust off my tiara and get to work! 




Aurea Sadi

---