Verse: Happy are those who do not follow in the way of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers (Psalm 1:1).

Reflection:
In a lot of stories, to get to the good part, you have to work through difficulties and setbacks, sins and stumbles. Spiritually, to enter into the new life in Christ more fully, we have to become aware of where we've been and where we are, in order to get to where we are meant to be. In space probes to distant planets, NASA scientists understand that while they aim as accurately as possible for their target at launch time, they still have to make course corrections all along the way. This verse from Psalm 1 is concerned for our happiness in Christ. It calls us to take stock, assess where we are in our personal walk, and if necessary, make a course correction. It's been said that the unexamined life is not worth living. The psalm in its own way invites us to examine our lives, our way of living, to see if we are going in the right direction, to listen for those inspired thoughts from God.

There is also the matter of God's grace—the grace that goes before us in life, helping us to heal, overriding our mistakes, sustaining us in all our trials, and returning us when necessary, to the right path. Our faith tells us that God is persistent in our lives. We may wander and stray and choose wrongly, but God always leads us home. Sometimes through no doing of our own, life throws us terrible curves, unsought difficulties, and we are on unfamiliar ground. The Lord is there with us, to guide us in the way that's best for us. Very few people would accept bad advice if they knew it was bad. The trouble is, it often comes in very attractive forms. We don't intend to choose wrongly: we do so unthinkingly, without reflection, without contemplating our commitments, our values, our goals in God. Have we stopped, and taken time to listen to God speaking in the word, and in our daily lives? God speaking through our lives. Our faith calls us to ponder deeply, to respond to the word, to seek the way. Let us contemplate paths taken, and not taken, in the light of the One whom we call the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Let us consider where we are now, in our personal walk with God. And let us think on what the Lord might have in store for us I the days ahead. Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.

Verse: But their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on this law they meditate day and night.

Reflection:
Remember that the psalm is concerned with human happiness and blessedness. We began with a happiness that stems from not doing certain things. But it doesn't stop there. Our faith is not essentially about refraining from, it's about positive affirming, embracing the goodness God has for us. It tells us about the way of actual delight. It's a beautiful word: delight. This word speaks to us of sheer joy, wonder, ecstasy. Why are we surprised to see it in conjunction with the law of God? Law keeping sounds like such a dreary thing: where's the delight in that? But here we see God's law—God's way of life—as the path to life's deepest satisfactions. We are to find satisfaction for our souls in the living word. In Psalm 119 we read, "O how I love thy law, it is my meditation all the day .... How sweet are thy words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth." The law then includes all that God has spoken, and for us it is supremely centered on the person of Jesus Christ, who established what the New Testament calls, the law of love.

Our forebears in the faith made it a practice to turn a single verse over and over in their minds, until it found a home in the depths of their being. It became part of them, and in doing so it enriched their lives. In a number of psalms we find references to the great value of meditating on God's word. We know from the ministry of Jesus that he spent extended periods of time in the word of scripture. It was a key component in his relationship with God. Have Christians forgotten the art of meditation? Have we become too busy to take time with the Word? Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, we are told in Ephesians. By meditating on the Word in this way—as the psalmist says, day and night—it sinks into us, becomes part of us, and shapes our lives.

A great Christian named George Muller lived in the 19th century England and had a great ministry establishing orphanages. He discovered the power of meditating on the Word. Listen to what he wrote: "It often astonishes me that I did not sooner see this. Yet, since God taught me on this point, it is as plain to me as anything, that the first thing the child of God has to do each morning is to obtain food for the inner person. Now what is this food? Not prayer, for that must follow; it is, rather, the word of God. And not just the simple reading of the word, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts. From this practice lo these many years I have derived immense spiritual profit and refreshment."

"Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Christ our Lord. Amen." (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)

Verse: They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.

Reflection:
This verse gives us an unforgettable picture of steadfastness and productivity—a strong tree, near a stream, constantly nurtured by fresh, flowing waters, in harmony with the seasons and blessing creation by its very being. Such a tree would be particularly striking in the ancient land of Israel, where a stream that flowed all year was rare. Most streambeds dried up at some point, and the vegetation that depended on the water, suffered accordingly. This tree had a constant source, and grew and prospered accordingly. The passage invites us to see ourselves as having that kind of rootedness in God. Sometimes we deprive ourselves of spiritual growth because we insist on seeing what has been, rather than what shall be. We might hold onto an image of ourselves as unsteady, lacking strength, anxious, easily blown away like chaff in the wind. But biblical faith calls us to trade in outdated images of ourselves. Christ is in the process of making us into this mighty tree—we shouldn't hold onto a picture that tries to convince us we are weak, that we might be knocked over in the first storm. The Holy Spirit continually refreshes us with living water: see your life as a blessing to all those around you.

There is a tree in one of the staging areas for troops going into Iraq. It's large, with plenty of leaves. And it is surrounded entirely by desert wastes. It's a bit of tourist stop. Soldiers go to see it sometimes—it's so amazing out there in the desert, strong and healthy, with no apparent source of water. We too have hidden source of renewal. As we attend to the life of the spirit, our source never dries up.

This image is continued near the very last chapter of the Bible, in the book of Revelation. "On either side of the river is the tree of life, with its twelve kinds of fruit; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." It speaks to us of our mission in the world: that as we are changed by the power of the Word, we are God's healers for the nations, bringing hope to a broken world.

Listen to St. Paul's prayer, that seems to take its shape from Psalm 1: "I pray that, according to the riches of God's glory, you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through God's Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love" (Ephesians 3:17).