Lectio divina on Psalm 1. "Lectio Divina aims at giving an awareness of God's presence through a fourfold process, lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio. Lectio is receiving the word of God, meditatio, allowing the Word to be present in the awareness giving rise to oratio, prayer, and contemplatio, resting in the presence of God." Lectio Divina

The Bible is like a kaleidoscope. We see new wisdom every time that we see it with fresh eyes. However, it is very easy to become proud and think we know precisely what a passage means and thereby kill the living Word. To counter that sort of pride, we must practice how to see familiar verses with new eyes, child's eyes. In this first lectio, we examine the first Psalm.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Step two, meditatio: reflect on the verses...
Consider that the psalm speaks of three different kinds of evil: an active evil that walks about doing actual harm; an obstructive evil that stands like gossipers in the public square; and a passive, loafing evil that sabotages those who attempt to do good. By contrast, the one who does the will of God is settled, neither roaming about, nor standing around idly, nor sitting, but rooted in his environment, gratefully drinking in God's word. Inherent in the nature of this one is the bearing of good fruit, fruit that survives despite the barren environment because the steadiness of his determination comes from God.

Reflect that we censure active evil, as for example the person who has a drinking problem -- but we do not censure the obstructive evil of tolerating alcoholism rather than lovingly confronting it. And least of all do we recognize as a kind of evil our willingness to, for example, join in cutting public funds for treatment of alcoholism without ensuring that they are replaced by private funds. But all are part of the cycle of evil in this world, not just committing wrong, but tolerating it and detracting from those who would try to do good. The righteous person (in Hebrew, the word sadaq means both righteous and just, and thus we cannot be righteous unless we behave justly) determinedly devotes himself to repairing the world.

Remember that although we are saved by faith (Romans 5:1), we have been clearly warned that many people who believe that they are saved are actually fooling themselves (Matthew 7:22-23). We can only feel reasonable confidence in salvation if we spontaneously bear good fruit by doing deeds that reflect our repentance. Although deeds are not salvation in themselves, consider: "faith without works is dead." (James 2:20).

Step three, pray from your newfound understanding...
One suggested means of prayer is abbreviated ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. And so join me in prayer, "(A) Lord, you made us with a wonderful capacity to feel the peace and love and joy that you radiate. You give us a wonderful opportunity in life to demonstrate your Presence to those who do not yet sense you by performing a loving deed. (C) And yet, Lord, all too often, we allow fear or anger to grip us, and so we fail to drink in your Presence. Or we allow pride to grip us and so we look down on our brother or our sister with contempt. Or we allow greed to keep us from giving needed aid. (T) And yet, Lord, you also revive us from our fears and anger and pride and greed. Without your guidance, we would wallow in those terrible emotions. But you guide us back to your Light. Thank you! (S) And so, Lord, we ask: guard us from doing wrong. Energize us to repair the damage of sin. Keep us not just from the acts that the Pharisees call sin, but also from malice and gossip and obstructing those who want to help -- guard us from the sins of the heart. Help us to love you from the heart and do what you will and bear good fruit by loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Amen.