The readings for today all highlight God’s gift of salvation to us in one way or another. Our salvation is central to our faith, but I think we often do not delight or rejoice in it to the extent that we could and should. That is why the passage in Psalm 13 for today jumped out at me as one to think about. I have been reflecting on the words, “Though I trusted in your mercy, let my heart rejoice in your salvation.” This is a prayer to the Lord that I often pray because I know I need to trust even more. And I certainly need to rejoice still more. I can identify with the Psalmist in acknowledging that the Lord has been with me through so many trials and tribulations, and “He has been good to me.” But there is even more reason I should be delighted about how God’s salvation plays out in my life.
Mercy is the act of showing compassion and forgiveness to those in distress or suffering, even if they do not deserve it. I know how it feels to receive God’s kindness and love, trusting that mercy is always there for me even though I do not deserve it. But if it ends there, I can still get trapped in guilt for all my sins. Fortunately, salvation is much more than that. It is not just about trust and hope in deliverance from my sins, it is about a transformation of who I am and future glorification. Salvation is not just about the forgiveness of my sins that seem so ongoing, it is about deliverance from the power of sin and evil over me. It is not about just being let off the hook, it is about being justified through faith. With God’s salvation, our sins are not just forgiven, we are rescued from them. We are declared righteous in God’s sight and restored to a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. My prayer today is that we should rejoice in this truth with great delight. We do have something to sing about!
Barbara Dilly
I came to Creighton in 2000 and retired in 2020. My twenty years of teaching, research and service in the Jesuit tradition enhanced my own life. It was an exciting time of celebration. I loved teaching and interacting with Creighton students because they responded so eagerly to the Ignatian pedagogical emphasis on the development of the whole person. It is this spirit of whole person development and celebration of life that I hope to infuse in my reflection writings.
My academic background is eclectic, preparing me well for the Liberal Arts academic environment at Creighton. I earned my BA in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA in 1988 and my Ph.D. in Comparative Cultures from the University of California, Irvine in 1994. My research focused on rural communities in the American Midwest, Latin America, and Australia. I taught Environmental Anthropology, Qualitative Research Methods, Social and Cultural Theory, and Food Studies courses.
I retired to Shell Rock, a small rural community in Northeast Iowa where I enjoy gardening, cooking, quilting, driving my 65 Impala convertible an my 49 Willys Jeepster. I have lots of fun playing my guitars with friends from the Cedar Valley Acoustic Guitar Association. But most importantly, I am still working to make my community and rural America a better place. I host a community quilt studio and serve on the Mission Board of my church. I also serve as the Climate Committee Chair and on the Executive Board of the Center for Rural Affairs.
