A Gospel Reflection
by Father Jim Livingstone
Friday, June 5th
“As he taught in the temple, Jesus went on to say, “How can the scribes maintain that the Messiah is a son of David? It was David himself who said, when inspired by the Holy Spirit, “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. David himself calls him Lord; how can he be David’s son?” There was a large crowd listening eagerly.”
Why did Jesus question the Jews on the claim that the Messiah would be the son of David? Jesus makes his point in dramatic fashion by quoting one of David’s prophetic psalms, Psalm 110.
“the Lord said to my Lord
,
Sit at my right hand, till I put
you
r enemies under your feet.”
How can the son be the lord of his father? Jesus, who took upon himself our human nature for our sake, is not only the son of David, he is first and foremost the Son of God eternally begotten by the Father. The Messiah whom God promised to send would not only come from David’s line, but he would be greater than an earthly ruler who came before or would come after. Jesus claimed a sovereignty that only God can claim. He came to rule the hearts and minds of people, not their lands. He came to free us from the worst tyranny possible, slavery to sin, Satan and a world ruled by greed and lust for power and wealth.
Jesus risen in glory by the power of the Holy Spirit reigns over all of creation. The Apostle Paul reminds us that no one can say, “
Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.”
It is the role of the Holy Spirit to make the Lord Jesus Christ present and known in our lives. We can accept the Lord or reject him, love him or ignore him. He will never force his rule upon us. But the consequences of our choice will not only shape our present life but our destiny as well. We can be ruled by many things, possessions, the love of money, unruly passions, alcohol, drugs and other addictions. There is only one Lord and Master who can set us truly free to serve others selflessly and to be loved as God has intended. When we invite Jesus into our heart, our relationships, our thoughts and all that we do to acknowledge him as the only one who can set us free, then we truly become the person God created us to be.
