You Are the Beloved

A Reflection on the Psalm for October 9th, 2022:
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Psalm 98
1-4

R. The Lord has revealed his victory in the sight of the nations.

O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things. His right hand and his holy arm have brought him victory.

R. The Lord has revealed his victory in the sight of the nations.

The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. 

R. The Lord has revealed his victory in the sight of the nations.

All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises. 

R. The Lord has revealed his victory in the sight of the nations.

When I feel out of sorts, I often keep it to myself. I know that isn’t unusual. Plenty of people respond automatically with “fine” when asked “how are you?”
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Today was a bit different. After weeks of feeling irritable, frustrated and off my game, I finally lost my patience. “What more do you people want from me? I’m doing my best! I know I don’t do everything perfectly, but nobody else does either!”

And then, in the moment following the outburst, there came another interior voice, an insinuating voice, that said, “But you could have done better than you did — and you should have.” I found myself looking back on past successes, thinking, “What have you done lately?”

It was about that time that I got a text from a friend and, as good friends often do, she saw past the insincerity of my automatic “fine“ and asked me again if I was doing okay today. So, I told her how I was feeling, and immediately she responded with a long list of all of the things I had done lately. In summing up, she said, “I just think you’re grand.”

In times of self-rejection, a person needs to have her good points spoken out loud, just to show that there is someone who sees the person she longs to be, even though she is flawed.

Henri Nouwen, in his book Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World, writes:

Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us “the Beloved.” Being the Beloved expresses the core truth of our existence.… [T]hough the experience of being the Beloved has never been completely absent from my life, I never claimed it as my core truth.… [I[t seems that I was much more eager to listen to other, louder voice voices saying: “Prove that you are worth something.…” Meanwhile the soft, gentle voice that speaks in the silence and solitude of my heart remained unheard or, at least, unconvincing.

In the psalm for this Sunday, we sing praise for the victory the Lord has done. There is no greater victory than the one that silences the voice of the world that says we are worth less. Jesus says, “Take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) 

God’s great victory in a world that calls us worthless and unlovable is to reveal to us, through His saving death on the cross and through the inspiration of others (like my dear friend), that we are His Beloved. 

“The Lord has revealed His victory …. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord …. Break into joyous song.” You are the Beloved. You are the Beloved!



Donna Davis

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