Sept 23, 2018                    Wisdom                                                

         For the last several weeks we have had readings from the book of proverbs in our lectionary texts. As I have noted before, Proverbs is a book of wisdom and speaks about how wisdom, the wisdom of God is found in human life. But Proverbs is not the only book that speaks about God’s wisdom, in the book of Psalms, there are a number of Psalms that speak of God’s wisdom, and how that wisdom is found, which brings us to our Psalm for this morning, Psalm 1.

1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers

The first thing you might notice about the opening verse of psalm 1 is the promise of happiness. Since the Hebrew dictionary only has 1100 words in it, the Hebrew word for happy, is also the word for blessed, and to describe a straight life – one in tune with God.

The second thing you might notice is that the opening verse describes how this happiness is not found. First of all it is not found in following the advice of the wicked – “live for yourself, live for today, life is all about you!” That is the advice of the wicked, and when we do this, we make each other enemies, and pile up problems for ourselves. Second, happiness is not found standing in the way of sinners – this is a blunt way of saying those who deny God’s existence and God’s salvation – mainly as a justification for their living for themselves alone. And finally, happiness is not found sitting in the seat of scoffers, who believe there is no meaning or purpose in life, and so they ridicule those who believe, and seek to realize God’s purpose for their lives. The sitting part of this describes leisure, and the lack of productivity in a scoffers life.

So now onto what kind of life produces happiness.   

2 But their delight (the happy/blessed) is in the law of the Lord, on his law they meditate day and night.

Happiness is to be found in the Law of the Lord. Now many take this to mean the ten commandments, or the hundreds of God’s laws written in Exodus, or Leviticus, which are indeed a part of God’s law and seeks to guide us to live in tune with God. But the Hebrew Word for law is Torah, and that includes all the stories and teachings of the bible. Every law has it’s situation, it’s context, and it’s story. God’s torah, speaks about life lived in healthy relationships with one another, in loving our neighbor as ourselves, and in some stories, what befalls those who do not. 

         Now meditating upon God’s law, is not a simple matter of book study. Yes, to meditate upon God’s law, means we should read it, regularly, but meditating upon it means keeping it in mind, consulting it when we make decisions, allowing God’s Torah to guide our lives. It means acting intentionally in our lives according to God’s Torah.

         So what does God promise to those who do this?

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

The promise to those who meditate upon God’s law is that their lives will be solid like trees, not easily uprooted by the winds of the world. That they will be connected to the wellsprings of life that will feed and sustain them. That they will be productive in life, not wasting their time in vain pursuits or idleness. And, that they will age gracefully, having become strong in God’s spirit to face the pass of years. This is the fruit of a life lived according to God’s purpose and meaning.

And for those who do not choose this path in life….?

4. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.5. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

Those who do not choose this path are not solid, but are like chaff. They are blown this way and that, they are consumed by the fires that test our lives. They waste themselves on things that do not last, and in so doing, have nothing to fall back on when times are tough. Those are the judgements, those difficult times in life, in which those who live for themselves and for the moment fall and fail, and great as is their misery and weeping in those times. And finally, the greatest tragedy of all, is that they have cut themselves off from others. From those who would care for them and help them in their time of need. They have rejected the congregation of the righteous, they have removed themselves from the congregation who looks after others, who cares for those in need, they have scoffed at and turned away from those who would have helped them and so in the end there is no help for them.

And so, we are given a choice…. 

6. for the LORD watches over the ways of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

         The final verse of Psalm 1 is a statement of faith! A statement that there is justice in the world, that righteousness shall overcome wickedness, that loving our neighbor as ourselves, shall work out better for us than loving ourselves over our neighbors. That meditating upon God’s Word and being a part of God’s congregation will make a difference in our lives, one that leads to a strong and abundant life, rather than one that leads to a life that is empty, and left upon the scrap heap.

        

         In our Gospel lesson this morning, once again Jesus speaks about his death, his suffering himself for us, his giving up his life for our salvation. And all his disciples can think about, is which of them is the greatest. And so, Jesus tries to tell them again, to stop thinking of themselves alone, to live as servants of one another, servants of even the least, servants of even children. In doing so, he is asking them to make that same faith choice, that the Psalmist calls us to make. For in making that choice, we are choosing God!

And that is the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen.