Perfect Love, Perfect Joy

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, March 31st, 2024:
Easter Sunday

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Psalm 118​

R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. 

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever. Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 

R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. 

“The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.” I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.

R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. 

The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. 

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

[Ora first published this reflection on April 18, 2019.]

This beautiful psalm is one of the Hallel psalms that has been recited or sung for millennia at the Jewish Passover meal and other holy days. It is prophecy, praise – a great thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord. He loves us with an everlasting love. As Christians, we know that the prophecy of this Psalm has been fulfilled. He loves us so much that He sent His Son, knowing He would be rejected, murdered even, so that He could show us the many facets of His might, show us once and for all that nothing is too hard for Him. It is paradoxically, devastatingly, and beautifully flawless – the ultimate demonstration of perfect love and power.

How marvellous in our eyes! Marvellous: causing great wonder, extraordinary, amazing, astounding, astonishing, awesome, breathtaking, sensational, remarkable, spectacular, stupendous, staggering, stunning, phenomenal, miraculous, incredible, unbelievable! The meaning of the original Hebrew word used in this psalm (pala’) is “to be wonderful, be surpassing, be extraordinary, separate by distinguishing action” (Blue Letter Bible). This word is used on many other occasions in the Bible, such as in Genesis 18:14 when Abraham’s wife Sarah is told she will bear a son in her old age.
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This Psalm is a call to share the Good News with joy. Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are indeed extraordinary and, as such, they speak for themselves. But if they are truly marvellous in that sense, why are they often so difficult to communicate? In John 8:39-43, we see that even Jesus Himself could not convince the Pharisees of His divinity. They were the experts! They claimed to be sons of Abraham! They knew the law better than anyone, and yet they refused to see the truth of Jesus’ identity. ​
 
I am slowly learning that acting with grace means letting God speak for Himself. It means giving up control and letting Love do the work. Galatians 5:6 says this: “The only thing that counts is faith working through love.” Someone who is joyful in their belovedness and who therefore sees the belovedness of others is respected and becomes someone who can address the elephant in the room – someone who can dig deeper to expose the darkness, to strive for better communication, to seek to understand their own motivations, and to also truly hear what others are saying. This is the ability to stand on our own two feet in our identity as sons and daughters of God, unintimidated by the “powers” of the world, operating under an expectation of justice yet forgiving those who fail to deliver it. Wearing the armour of God means we are not easily offended because, as we endeavour to see and know well our own temptations, faults, and failures, we cultivate deep compassion for those of others. This is what it looks like to wield the sword of the Spirit. We will not always be loved by the world – au contraire, says Jesus. But indeed, what is marvellous awaits: the rejected, transformed into the glorified!

Lord Jesus, help us to be joyful in Your everlasting love through the power of Your Passion and Resurrection.
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​Lindsay Elford

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