Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a. December 1, 2022 - Thursday, 1st Week of Advent
Psalm 118 from which comes the fragment used in today’s liturgy of the Word belongs to the collection of the psalms of praise used during the feast of Passover. There are six of them (Ps 113-118) and they are known as the “Hallel” which means “praise God”. The last psalm of this short collection begins with a reference to God’s steadfast love. Its main focus is thanksgiving for God’s deliverance from the threat of death. Jesus sang those psalms with his disciples during the Last Supper just before his passion. No wonder that through this psalm the Church proclaims Christ’s resurrection and final victory over death. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:55).
Our fragment begins with a call to praise God and the reason for this praise is God’s goodness and his everlasting grace or mercy. From this first verse, we move immediately to verses 8 and 9 where the psalmist tells us to put trust in God and not in people, even the most powerful of this world. This statement reminds me of the famous words of Jeremiah who said that someone who trusts in another human being and turns away from the Lord is cursed. On the other hand, the one who trusts in the Lord is blessed (see Jer 17:5-8). Despite all our achievements, we are limited creatures in many ways. The Lord, on the other hand, can save us from any dangers, even death.
Verses 19-21 that are included in the second stanza speak about the Lord’s gate and the gates of justice. I am always surprised by the Chinese traditional character for the word “justice” (義). It is composed of two characters - “lamb” (羊-the one above) and “I” (我- the one below). This simple character proclaims the message of the Gospel. The blood of Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, justifies me, a sinner. Jesus is our Savior (Ps 118:21) . In him the gates of justice, the Lord’s gate is wide open. Justified by the blood of the lamb, we have access to eternal life.
The fragment of psalm 118 that we hear today ends with a request for salvation and prosperity voiced by the community: “O LORD, grant salvation! O LORD, grant prosperity!” (Ps 118:25). The testimony of the psalmist who was delivered by God from death encourages others to pray for the same blessing. The resurrection of Christ brought hope to all of us that we also experience the victory of life over death in us, and that we shall rise and live with Christ forever.
The following verse, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD; we bless you from the house of the LORD” (Ps 118:26) was probably used by the priests when welcoming the pilgrims arriving at the temple in Jerusalem. Part of this verse is quoted by all the Evangelists at the moment of Jesus’ triumphal entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matt 21:1-11; Mk 11:1 11; Luke 19:28-40; Jn 12:12-19). Jesus Christ is the one who came in the name of the Lord, true God from true God. He has come to bring us salvation and prosperity, and to give us the light of life.