Compassionate Father
Psalm 103:1-2, 13-14, 17-18a. February 1, 2023 - Wednesday, 4th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalm 103 is considered one of the pearls of the Psalter. It speaks about the love of God manifested in the forgiveness of sins and healing, prosperity and renewal. The psalmist drawing on the Exodus tradition highlights two attributes of the Lord, namely his kindness and mercy. In Exodus 34:6, the Lord says: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”. In Psalm 103, the Holy Spirit declares that God’s steadfast love is “as high as the heavens are above the earth” and he removes our iniquities “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps 103:11-12).
The psalm begins with an invitation to praise and remembrance. The praise should spring from the innermost part of our being and the reason for that praise is the experience of God’s blessings and His benefits. Then, the Lord’s compassion is compared to that of a father towards his children. This statement is elaborated in the famous parable of Jesus known as the parable of the prodigal son. It features a compassionate father who welcomes home his younger son and tries to reason with his older son to rejoice at his brother’s return from a life marked by sin (see Luke 15:11-32).
In view of the psalmist, the compassion of God springs from the fact that we are mortal and fragile creatures. The statement that “we are dust” refers to the creation of human being in the book of Genesis. We read there: “the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Gen 2:7). We are dependent on the Lord. We can praise him with our innermost being only because the Lord created us and we have become living creatures. But, our life here on earth is short, often compared to a flower that blooms in the morning and withers in the evening (see Ps 103:15).
Finally, the third stanza of our psalm today explains to us the meaning of the fear of the Lord. This fear is different from the emotion of fear that arises within us in front of people we are afraid of. The fear of the Lord needs to be learned (Ps 34:12). It means that the more we get to know the Lord, the more we revere him. And the reverence for the Lord is manifested in our obedience, in keeping his covenant. Our Lord Jesus expressed this idea more profoundly when he said that those who truly love him would keep his commandments (John 14:15).
The best commentary of Psalm 103 is Jesus’ revelation of God as Abba, Father who loves all His children, forgives our sins, knows all our needs, and renews our life.