Walking, Standing, Sitting (12-6-2020)

 Walking, Standing and Sitting 12-6-20 My Scripture for today is Psalm 1:2 TLB "But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely." The Psalms come from the soul, from inner conflict, hurt, joy, gratitude, grief or other states of being. Just about everyone who has taken time to read or listen to the Psalms loves them and often have a favorite one, yet being a poet, I have heard people say that they don't like poetry. Nevertheless, these same people love the Psalms which is a book of poetry. The Psalms were originally spoken or sung aloud, they came from a culture where there was no silent reading. The word translated in many Bibles as "meditate or meditating" in verse 2 is translated differently in a new Bible I've been reading. Instead of "meditate," the word translated in this Bible is: "murmurs" which is what we often do when we read a text aloud to ourselves. When I read a poem I often have to read it aloud, to murmur it, if you will, before I can understand it and capture its drift. The brief, eloquent Psalm 1, in the tradition of wisdom literature, is a comment on what righteous or proper living is and what it is not. It uses images of what we do during any given day: we walk, we stand and we sit. But this is poetry so we should take special effort to plumb the depths of its words. As I said, the title of my devotional is Walking, Standing and Sitting. 1. Walking: When we walk we put one front in front of the other and we move forward to a task or a friend or a location. Sometimes it is a big effort and a conscious decision to put one foot in front of the other and do the work that is necessary for our own good and the good of others. My sister walks two or three miles every day. She does this to get out of the sometimes distressing environment of her apartment, but she also does it to stay healthy, both physically and spiritually. Have you ever heard the truism: "He walks the walk?" Normally what that means is someone is doing what is morally or ethically right and is not just talking a good game. Psalm 1 says that a happy or blessed man is someone who has not walked according to the counsel of the wicked. When our parents warned us against associating with certain kids they were wisely counseling us to avoid bad influences and they put us in situations or groups that would be good and beneficial for us physically and spiritually. In other words good parents want their children to walk a good walk. The second thing we do daily is to stand... 2. . Standing: Some Native Americans use the words: standing people for trees. The psalmist as do many other writers in the Old Testament, uses this sentence in verse 3: "And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water." (The New Hebrew Bible) In the semi-arid climate of the middle east people knew that if a tree were to flourish it needed to be by a water source. Remember the movie images of a desert oasis with palm trees all around? Again following its theme of righteous living, this Psalm is saying we need to stand with and be around people who will nourish us spiritually, who will lead us to God. Some of my fond memories of this church, pre-COVID, were standing around before Sunday School or after our church service in the foyer or outside, catching up on peoples' news, joking, and sharing the events and concerns of our lives and families. When we want to say that someone is wrong or has presented false evidence, we say things like: "He has no leg to stand on." To stand soundly and with ease we need two legs. Before we can walk as toddlers, we must first learn to stand. I periodically reflect if I am "in good standing" with the Lord. And finally, how often we have been encouraged to "stand up" for our beliefs! The third thing we do every day is to sit. 3. Sitting: I do entirely too much sitting these days. But after I left my jobs as a pipefitter apprentice and carpenter helper I was basically in white collar jobs, for which I am grateful, however, in those jobs I did a lot of sitting down. And in retirement the nice term for it is sedentary. Which is another way to say lazing around a lot. 4. But there is a lot of sitting that is redemptive. Sitting and reading the Bible or books of a spiritual nature or sitting and meditating and praying are good things. Many high positions are referred to by such terms as the sitting president, or the sitting judge. Those of us with back problems are grateful when we are told to be seated to listen to a sermon or a presentation by a person who has something important to say. When I sit and listen to my wife or sister or good friends while we talk or have a phone conversation, I am doing something I should be doing to be a righteous husband, brother, friend or Christian. On the other hand we are warned against certain activities done while sitting. In verse 1 of Psalm 1 we are told that blessed is the man who does not sit in the seats of the scornful, mockers, or scoffers. I have spoken with men who speak of sitting and watching pornography for hours. There are lots of evil things that can be done while sitting. So this Psalm and the Psalms in general have an important role in the life of the community and of individuals in that community. I know a man who was going through a difficult period in his life psychologically and spiritually and he said that his spiritual and psychological advisor directed him to read the Psalms every day. This man says it was the Psalms that have helped him tremendously to get through difficult times. Therefore, for the next three months we are going to have a real treat and an uplifting experience reading and studying the Psalms in Sunday School. Prayer Father we are so grateful for the writers of the Psalms and for your inspiration to them. Help us to be open to the wisdom and counsel in this great book. Help us to find the words, lines, and passages that aid us in understanding and coping with the difficulties in our lives. We adore you and confess our need for you and your wisdom, we need your care and your mercy. We pray these things in the name of our precious Savior, your son Jesus Christ.