Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2
Alan and I have this little thing for print journalism. We are all for it, and in our small sentimental way we continue to support its last desperate gasps for survival. Like the day after I mailed in our renewal to Newsweek they announced their demise. Every morning there is a crunch in the driveway gravel of the local newspaper toss. My tree hugger soul gave in to this higher calling. And by the time these publications are finished begging for subscriptions they work out to be cheaper than toilet paper. And great fireplace fodder. So the bongo drums around the living room are stacked with Time and The Week and Christianity Today and Newsweek (at least until January) and The Daily Star, with NPR radio sifting down in edgewise and The New York Times popping into my gmail account every night at midnight. Words, all I hear are words.
And what a heavy weight it is. My very tender PG-rated soul only will watch movies with a happy ending, and there is no end in sight. Erupting riots. Afghan massacre. Filthy water. Wicked and Sinners and Scoffers galore. And those who know me can see this weight has wrapped around my ankles like heavy chains and there is no happy bounce to my step.
So here is this promise: Blessed, (or happy) is he whose delight is in the law of the LORD and on his law meditates day and night. And our Monday night book club is reading Thomas Merton’s “Ways of Meditation,” which is not a method or system, but a cultivated outlook of faith, openness, attention, reverence, expectation, supplication, trust and joy. Much sweeter that the latest roiling of the Petraeus scandal, although it is relatively nice to read that France became the first Western country to recognize the coalition, seeking to inject momentum into a broad effort to build a viable and effective opposition that would hasten the end of a stalemated civil war, one does notice the term of a “stalemated civil war,” and all of the bleakness thus entailed.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.
Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.
Merton underscores that under the pretext of what is “within” one should not cultivate neglect and contempt for the “external,” ...that meditation has no point unless it is firmly rooted in life. Firmly rooted. In Life. Like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.
And tying everything up with final flourish, today’s explorefaith.org popped up with an reminder nuance to this happy:May our sons be like plants well nurtured from their youth, and our daughters like sculptured corners of a palace. Happy are the people of whom this is so! Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!
And may this joyful refrain file away the heavy chains of the shadowed reality on the cave wall, and replace it with a lilting Cameron Hood tune, pounded out with a stomping foot,
May our sons in youth, be firm in their roots
May our daughters be pillars at the palace of truth,
May our houses be homes. May our wells overflow
May our sheep increase ten-thousand fold
May we slay deceit, rise from defeat
May You keep us from captivity
May our walls be strong, if we sing your songs
If we sing your praises all day long
Happy were we when blessings came
Happy are we who call on Your name
Happy are those whose God is true
Happy are those whose God is You.
No comments:
Post a Comment