There seem to be two kinds of people in the world—those that seem to constructively manage their circumstances
in life—even when their lives are challenged. These people do not seem
to dwell on themselves and their own troubles. Instead, they exude a positive,
warm, welcoming presence in their lives. Then there are those other persons—these
are the negative people—the cynical people —people that seem always to be unhappy about life. Moreover, they seem to go out of their way to be critical of others.
JUST WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES SOME PEOPLE TO BE POSITIVE PEOPLE? THE
WRITER OF THE PSALM, THE POET, SEEKS TO ADDRESS THAT QUESTION.
He began: “Happy are …” Unfortunately,
when we hear the word “Happy” we may think of Bobby McFerrin’s
song of some years back, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” However, that meaning is not at all what the word “Happy” means in this psalm. For the Hebrew word used in this psalm for “happy” is “ashre.” “Ashre” comes from a root verb meaning “to go forth, to advance, to lead the way.”
Therefore, from the beginning of his description of a positive person, the poet
states that such persons have defined goals and overriding purposes for their lives. Because
they have clearly defined goals in their lives, they are able to live life assertively.
FURTHER, HAVING CLEARLY DEFINED
GOALS, THEY FOCUS THEIR ENERGIES TOWARD ACHIEVING THOSE GOALS. Therefore, they
do not waste their energy in following the advice of wicked persons or get caught in trying to take short cuts through life.
They seek to be positive influences for good with their friends and within the larger community of humankind.
THESE PERSONS CAN LIVE SUCH
FOCUSED LIVES, FOR THEIR LIVES ARE ROOTED IN SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR OWN DESIRES. “Their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.” The word translated “law” is the Hebrew word “torah.” That is how it is translated in most English translations. However, the word “torah” sometimes is better translated as “teaching,” or “instruction.” The verse therefore might be better translated as, “…the teaching of the
Lord is his delight, and he studies that teaching day and night.” (Jewish Publication Society) These “happy” people are those people that get
excited in reading their scriptures! For in their reading, they realize
that they are a part of a larger story—God’s own story.
Moreover, throughout that
larger story, they see God working through the stories of flawed Abraham and Sarah; of cheating Jacob and scheming Rebekah;
of arrogant Joseph; of reluctant and hot-tempered Moses; of murderous David; and of Job, who through his suffering discovered
the gracious God that he never really known. As they study the biblical stories
about God’s faithfulness, these stories tutor such “happy” persons in understanding that God never leaves
us as we are, God who never lets us off, and God who never lets us go. Experiencing
God’s grace in their own lives, they are able to look beyond themselves and become engaged in deepening relationships
with God and God’s world.
The writer then uses the
analogy of a fruitful tree: “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield forth their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.” In
ancient Israel, many places were barely
arable, and the water was precious. Without water, there could not be any life. Within that context, then, think of a palm
tree that had been planted by a river. That palm tree would then be able to draw from an unlimited flow of river water—water
which would be continuing refreshing it. The tree would soak up the abundant
water, and thereby grow erect and be able to put down even deeper roots—roots that would sustain it in the face of the
driving desert winds, and the withering drought. The tree would be strong because
that it drew its strength from the abundant river water—that strength that would sustain it and enable it to put out
leaves and be fruitful.
Some of you may have known
Bill McSwegin, a Presbyterian Minister who served a congregation within this presbytery for many years. What some of you don’t
know is that for the past three years, Bill had suffered terribly from a form of cancer. Experimental
chemotherapy, radiation, multiple and radical surgery, all the best of modern medicine could not cure him of his crippling
affliction. Yet God’s grace and modern medicine did help to give him three
years to live with the cancer. We talked on the phone several times during that time. Each time that we talked, he always
wanted to know about my family. Despite the cancer that was eating away at his
body, his life continued to thrive on relationships. Then one night, during the
middle of April 2009, Bill slipped away, and was welcomed as a member of the Church Triumphant in Heaven.
At his funeral, Bill had
asked that the worshippers be given a sermon that he had written for the occasion. It was his testimony from the grave. Hear
a few of his words: “Life is not fair, life is never fair...suffering and death will come to all of us sooner or later
in one form or another... The only question is whether when it comes, we will be found standing in the right relation to God. What our faith gives us is not protection from the unfairness of life. What our faith gives us is something far more precious than
that. What our faith gives us is God, a relationship with God. And, as far as Jesus is concerned, without God, all that matters
is clearly lost already. It is only God’s grace which sustains us in good
times as well as bad.” (“The Grace We Don’t Deserve,” Bill McSwegin, reformatted)
Bill McSwegin’s life
testified that blessed people are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield forth their fruit in its season, and
their leaves do not wither.”
THE WRITER OF THE PSALM THEN
WENT ON TO DESCRIBE THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE THEIR ROOTS PLANTED DEEPLY IN THE RIVER OF LIFE. The poet wrote: “The wicked are not so, but are
like the chaff that the wind drives away.” In ancient Israel, when harvest time came,
the gathered grain and chaff would be spread out on the threshing floor. A threshing floor was a hilltop outside the village
where the strong breezes blew. The gathered grain then needed to be separated
from the empty husks and crushed stalks. Therefore, the farmers would then toss the mixed grain and chaff into the air. The
heavy grain would fall to the threshing floor while the light chaff would be blown away by the wind. The grain then would
be scooped up, and later be grounded into flour.
The reason that the wind
blew away the chaff, was because the chaff was lighter than the grain—it simply did not have any substance to it. Likewise, the Psalmist was saying that self-centered, negative persons simply do not
have significant substance in their lives. They therefore are easily tossed about
by the shifting winds of public opinion, adversity, or the destructive tornadoes of life.
The poet continued: “for
the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish”.
To be tutored by the scriptures does not guarantee any of us a life filled with riches, ease, or comfort. There is no prosperity promised here. Rather, “happy”
persons face the same temptations, humiliations, sorrows, and diseases that everyone faces. Yet
they respond differently to life. They are resourceful, self-reliant, engaging,
and open to new possibilities.
Last Spring, while I was
still living in Mississippi, I was riding along the coastal highway that runs from Long Beach to Gulfport. It
was a windy day. I looked to the
beach on my right and I saw the sand was blowing across the highway, covering up one lane.
Then I looked the other direction, across the highway. I looked at the ancient, giant oak trees that were lining that
highway. In many places, the oaks are standing where Hurricane Katrina had blown
the less substantial structures—including the very large homes that had once had stood nearby.
Of course, the giant oak
trees testified to their great battles with the forces of nature. Some limbs
had broken off. Poisonous salt water had washed over them contaminating the soil. Nevertheless,
on some of them, leaves had begun to emerge, promising new life. They survived the storms of life because of their root system.
Their root system had enabled them to hold fast in the midst of the winds that blew against them, and the waters that sought
to wash them away. Their root system had enabled them to draw from the nourishing waters that dwell deep within the earth—the
waters that even today continue to nourish and cleanse them of the poisonous salt.
Likewise, those persons through
their reading of the scriptures can see God’s providential story intertwined in the human story—those persons
develop spiritual roots that grow deep within the spiritual soil of the faith. Such
strong roots can enable one to withstand life’s violent storms.
The poet in Psalm 1 testified
that the way we live out our lives have consequences. Another poet, Robert Frost,
speaks of those choices and consequences in his well known poem: “The Road Not Taken.”
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
and sorry I could not travel both
and be one traveler, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I
could
to where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as
fair,
and having perhaps the better claim,
because it was grassy and wanted
wear…
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
and I, I took the one less traveled
by,
and that has made all the difference.
And that has made all the difference.
And that has made all the difference.
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