Thank you for sharing this early moment of your day with me, with God, and with the thoughts and words of this reading that I hope you will carry with you throughout the coming day and night.
Today’s Scripture:
Psalm 1
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;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 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.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Tim’s Devotional Reflection for Today
Whenever I read Psalm 1, my first thought is my father’s funeral. Perhaps that is even more the case, having just celebrated Father’s Day. I was sixteen years old and one of the youth choirs I sang in, the Madrigal Singers of First United Methodist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana, sang a setting of this Psalm. I can still sing it after all these years: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree that is planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.”
It is a powerful image: to delight in the teaching of our faith, to think about it, to meditate on it whatever you or doing or wherever you go—day or night—is to be rooted and nourished like a tree that is planted by a river. To be rooted and grounded in that way is then to have a fruitful life. As Jim Moore, our pastor, preached the funeral he came back to that theme of what makes a grounded and fruitful life.
What does a grounded and fruitful life look like for you?
There is a lot of theology woven into hymns. To enhance today’s reading, I recommend listening to “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”. I hope you will take a few moments to let the words of this message and the emotion that always connects us to music connect with your soul. I am so grateful for you, for our church, and for the Love that will see us all through this very difficult time. Please stay safe and well and we’ll be together again in spirit tomorrow morning!
Grace and Peace,
Dr. Tim Bruster
Senior Pastor
