Ordinary Time

February 9, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 1
Happy are those
   who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
   or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
   and on his law they meditate day and night.
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.

The wicked are not so,
   but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.

The wicked are hard to discern in our world today. They very craftily reshape reality to meet their ideology, through partial truths or outright lies. If they repeat it enough, people start to believe it. We definitely have a good supply of scoffers, at times leading to violence. The Psalmist above assures us that the wicked will perish in the judgment. My question is what do we do in the meantime?

While it feels like we are in dangerous times, and, indeed, I think we could travel down wrong paths long enough, as the nation of Israel did, that we might find ourselves in exile. I have a greater sense that we have entered a time in history when a major move toward the good is opening if we seek and take advantage of the opportunities that lie within it. God sent Jesus to challenge us to work together in oneness to actualize, make real throughout the world, God’s vision of all operating on the power of love and doing great and wonderful things, together. We all think we are not the wicked when to some degree as we foster divisiveness and self-righteousness, we all become wicked. Clearing out the cobwebs of our souls is a great place to start, fostered by a closer relationship with God.

Prayer: Drop thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of thy peace.

 Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm*! Amen.

*Fourth and fifth verses of Dear Lord and Father of Mankind by John Greenleaf Whittier  see at https://hymnary.org/text/dear_lord_and_father_of_mankind

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.