Psalm One serves as an introduction to the collection of 150 psalms which is called the psalter (salt-er). The opening word of invitation is Happy. In other words: "Dear Pilgrim, as you set out into this collection of song-poems, may they teach you how to be genuinely happy."
Verse 1: The word blessed or happy appears in the psalms 25 times. The psalms want to teach us how to be happy. Are we ready for their plan or proposal? The invitation begins by contrasting the happy person with the wicked person or scoffer. The wicked person is someone who just doesn't get it. A scoffer is an arrogant person who isn't teachable. Notice the use of the word WAY. The Psalms are a journey into a new life-style or a new mind-set.
The culture we live in offers this kind of happiness:
- "You'll be happy if you land the right job."
- "You'll be happy if you set and achieve all the goals you've set for yourself."
- "You'll be happy if you have all the money you need and more."
- "You'll be happy if you drive this sexy car."
- You get the picture; pretty superficial, self-centered stuff.
Verse 2: But his delight is in the law of the Lord. Often, and not only in religion, we tend to fall back on and parrot what we were taught even a very long time ago. We'd like to think we're open to new ideas, but really we're just returning to what was memorized or words that sunk in on a superficial level. And so "Law of the Lord" might mean nothing more than the Ten Commandments or the Laws of the Church or the legalities of fasting and abstinence, or the laws surrounding sexual morality. But that's not what's on the psalmist's mind.
The one who delights in the law of the Lord is the one who is constantly open to God's instruction. Notice, this instruction is a delight, not a burden. Lots of people reject religion because they see it as an imposed burden. Where does that come from? There's no indication that God's instruction comes through a book, a lecture, lesson or even a sermon. The how, when, where is wide open and to be left to God. Some people won't like this idea as it leaves too much to surprise or spontaneity. The happy life? I start by being totally open to what God might want to teach me. And I'll know I'm living this way when someone else says to me, "You know, you're changing. There's something new about you." Some people go to Mass all their life, they say prayers and listen to countless homilies, but they stay the same. They never change.
Verses 3-4: Then right in the middle of the psalm there are these two wonderful similes. The one who delights in God's instruction is like a tree that's perfectly planted near moving water. The emphasis isn't on the fruitfulness, but on the roots themselves. I want to be utterly rooted in God's instruction. Don't you too? And deeply rooted (entrusting my life completely to God's teaching) like the tree, I can withstand drought. Name it!
"Whatever he does, prospers." Some people think, "Oh, if I follow the rules, show up to satisfy my obligations and say the right things, I'll "prosper" - be materially rewarded." Prosper means rather, come what may, I will have from God what I need to stay standing. Contrast this with the "wicked" - the ones who get it wrong and make wrong choices. They are like chaff. Chaff is light. Chaff is the waste part of wheat. Chaff is good for nothing. The bit about the right-rooted tree takes up three lines. The bit about the chaff takes one. Gives you an idea of what God thinks is important. Perhaps also a word of correction to those who spend their time warning and condemning everyone else.
Verse 5: The psalmist takes us back to the wicked and the sinners for a contrasting moment. The verse is not likely a reflection on what we have come to call Judgment Day, but rather, when the things of justice are decided before God, the wicked won't have any place in the conversation. The wicked come and they go. What they have to say, in the long run, is of no consequence. They're lost (without standing) and disappear to the edges of society.
Verse 6: The Lord watches over the way of the righteous. In another biblical place the words watches over suggests sexual intimacy. That is to say, those who entrust themselves completely to God's instruction will know the deepest intimacy with God who is the source of all life - real life, a happy life.
The word wicked appears here for the last time. This is the self-centered person rather than the God-centered person. The self-centered person thinks, "I don't need anyone else; I don't need God." American hero, Daniel Boone, said, "When you can see your neighbor's smoke, it's time to move." And for many, "In God We Trust" or "One nation under God" are just words (words we can do without). Could they be the more honest ones - giving voice to the way many people actually live.
Final word: Psalm One is a door opener. One hundred and fifty times we'll have put before us the two ways. The choice is ours. The way of God's teaching (what, when and how) opens up a way of happiness and life. I want it!
