"How Close is Close Enough?": A Reflection on the Psalm for August 19th, 2018: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

PSALM 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

“Taste and see”.

Not: “Think about and explain”.

Here is the wonder of it, beyond words: “I’m so close, I can almost taste it.”

It’s not just a thought, or an idea. Our Maker and Lord wants us to experience Him. Be close enough to taste Him.

I would love to say that I live here all the time—so close that I can more than almost taste Him, that I can actually taste His presence. But it would be closer to reality to say that only when I live here, am I really alive. Only when I’m close enough to taste Him, do I have any clue who I am. Only when I’m close enough to taste Him do I have any clue who the people around me really are, and how I’m to live with them; any clue how to love.

It’s the “all times” part mentioned in the first verse after this Sunday’s refrain, that is such a learning curve. Experiencing Him, living with Him, knowing Him to be good when things aren’t going so great. Even when they are going downright wrong.

The last couple of weeks I’ve been trying to help a friend of mine work her way through a difficult situation where someone she was once close to, has treated her so unbelievably unjustly. Everything was just so wrong, that one night I just wanted to yell, or cry or spit—something! We took time to pray together at the end of that evening. I felt overwhelmingly humbled to hear her pray for peace for the person treating her this way. There were points in that evening when I wanted to make him pay, not bring him peace.

Grace is hard work sometimes, but as the Psalmist encouraged, my friend sought peace and pursued it (Psalm 34:14). She reminded me that when we are living close enough to taste Him, the Lord’s goodness can carry us through the wrongness around us. And carry us through—able to live out His goodness. Because we have tasted and seen.

​Noreen Smith

"When we are living close enough to taste Him, the Lord’s goodness can carry us through the wrongness around us." - Noreen Smith (Ora Reflections)