Heart of Stone

A Reflection on the Psalm for February 20, 2022:
​Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Psalm 103

R. The Lord is merciful and gracious.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits. 

R. The Lord is merciful and gracious.

It is the Lord who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. 

R. The Lord is merciful and gracious.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 

R. The Lord is merciful and gracious.

As far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. 

R. The Lord is merciful and gracious.
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“He does not deal with us according to our sins... ”
 


When I was a teenager, I considered myself an atheist. My family was Catholic by heritage and I’d received a few sacraments, but it had been years since we went to church. So I was horrified when my parents decided to renew their faith. I was going to church – and Sunday school – every single week. 
 


My Sunday school teacher that year was a woman named Diane. I was determined to make her Sundays miserable. Each class, I showed up ready to argue, debate, mock and belittle the deeply held beliefs she shared with us. And each Sunday, Diane welcomed me into the class, made room for me whenever I wanted to speak and took my questions – even the rudest ones – very seriously. Things really came to a head one class when we talked about abortion. While she shared her pro-life views, I took over the class to argue vociferously for a woman’s right to choose. The rest of the class took Diane’s side, which just empowered me more: I was certain that I was the only one on the side of justice. When class ended, she asked me to stay back, and I thought, “This time, I finally got to her!” 
 


Instead, she thanked me. She thanked me for being brave enough to stand up for my beliefs and acknowledged that it’s not easy for a young teen to speak up against her peers. She said that she admired my tenacity and my passion and that she was so glad God had put me in her class because she always looked forward to hearing my thoughts. 
 


I was absolutely shaken, down to my core. I’d done everything I could to make this woman’s life miserable, and yet she didn’t hate me. She didn’t even tolerate me. She liked me! She was happy to see me! How on earth could someone be so kind to someone so mean? 
 


That day was the start of my journey toward conversion. I didn’t convert that day or even that year. But my heart of stone got its first crack when someone showed me the abundance of God’s love when I least deserved it. She didn’t count any of my sins against her. Instead, she looked at me through God’s eyes, saw how much He loved me and gave me a taste of that love. 
 


Today’s psalm is a celebration of God’s love for us and a guide for how we should love others. I am so grateful that God does not give me what I deserve but, instead, has compassion on me. He loved me like His own daughter, even when I was persecuting His followers. Now that I am a Christian, I get the challenging but beautiful privilege of being a witness to others as Diane was a witness to me. 
 


Lord, when I am persecuted or attacked, help me to see others through Your eyes and love them as You love me. 
 


 
Jenna Young
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