April 29, Lectionary # 265

Scripture: Lectionary # 265: Acts 4:13-21. Psalm 118:1.14-15.16-18.19-21.
Mark 16:9-15:

Pslam 118 is an Easter Psalm in the Christian re-reading of it. The speech
of Peter contains a citation from one of its verses that proclaims the
victory of Jesus over death and over human opposition to who he is: "The
stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone." It is the most
frequently cited Psalm in the New Testament, sixteen times by all of the
Evangelists, St. Paul, I. Peter, and Hebrews, as well as Romans. For us it
would be a good Psalm to pray throughout the Easter season and one worthy
of study and reflection.

The Psalm is also used in the Jewish celebration of the Feast of
Tabernacles (Sukkoth) and thus is a liturgical psalm of thanksgiving in the
context of that feast. What one of the great Jewish novelists writes about
it s easily adapted to our Easter time and its celebration: "To me it is
the finest time of the year. Each day is a gift from heaven. The sun no
longer bakes like an oven but caresses with a heavenly softness. The woods
are still green, the pines give a pungent smell. ....Here, I think, God
celebrates his holiday, here and not in town, in the noise and
tumult." (Glinert, p.229).

The Psalm is perfect for the celebration of the Eucharist. Thee is a
procession, and entrance ritual, and many symbolic actions and images. No
wonder it belongs to one of the three great pilgrimage feasts of the Jews.
We "borrow" it for our own liturgy and it makes sense in the light of the
Easter mysteries. Peter, in his speech, sees Jesus as the stone rejected by
the builders. We see Jesus as the Risen Christ who is the capstone or
cornerstone of the Church. This symbol can either be the keystone at the
top of an arch or the cornerstone for the foundation of a building or the
joint between two sides of the temple wall.

A Benedictine monk has this crispy paragraph about our Psalm: "No better
psalm can be used for that purpose than this one, Jesus himself, the
cornerstone applied it to himself and subsequently Peter, whom Jesus made
the Rock, applied to that supreme triumph of Jesus, his resurrection. With
that a new day dawned on mankind, a day that never sets. Let it therefore
be our cry day in and day out, "This day was made by the Lord, let us
rejoice and be glad." This psalm is not an invitation to merry-making with
Easter bunnies and egg hunting." (Stanley Jaki, Praying the Psalms,
204-205). Amen . Alleluiah.