In today’s first reading, Sirach 47: 2-11, the author
enumerates David’s victories over the enemies of the Israelites and his practice
of praising God and offering thanks to God every morning. “With his whole being he (David) loved his Maker and daily had his
praises sung; He set singers before the altar and by their voices he made sweet
melodies. He added beauty to the feasts and solemnized the seasons of each year
so that when the Holy Name was praised, before daybreak the sanctuary would resound.
The Lord forgave him his sins and exalted his strength forever; He conferred on
him the rights of royalty and established his throne in Israel.”
How does that passage reflect in your life and mine? At the end of our lives, would anyone
enumerate our victories over our enemies?
Do you and I, at the end of any given day, enumerate the victories we may
have achieved that day through Jesus Christ over the enemies we encountered
that day, whatever they may be: pride
and envy, jealousy and avarice, deceit and stinginess, corruption and the
eruption of anger, judgmentalism and condemnation, revenge and resentments,
unforgiveness and lack of mercy and compassion and so much more?
Moreover, do we begin each day praising and thanking God
or joining those who do? Do we solemnize
our feasts, the seasons of each year of our lives, our successes and failures
with prayers of petition, thanksgiving, and praise, or join those who do?
Without our asking, God has conferred “the rights of royalty”
upon us, that is, God adopted us as His sons and daughters and, through the
blood of His Son shed on the cross, established our thrones in heaven!
