Loss of the Link

The psalmist in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today presents the experience of Israel in relationship to God. The children of Zion rejoice as they put praise thanksgiving and humility at the forefront of their relationship with the Divine. This song of exultation and lived experience is in contrast to the confusion and disruption of Herod in the Gospel of Luke, as he is made aware of someone who is awakening the people with great prophesy. It also stands out compared to the desolation and disaster presented by the Prophet Haggai as the situation of the returnees from exile who had yet to prioritize the focus of their lives and to turn to the communal worship of God. The Temple was needed to refocus the returnees on the center of their lives together as a people with a Covenant with God.