Thoughts for the Day

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 judgement,
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.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

After living for years in Costa Rica as a child in 1920 and 30s my mother loved avocado's, but they didn't appear in the shops in the UK for a couple of decades later. The first time she brought one home was a red letter day, and when she had eaten it she saved the large stone for months only to put it in a narrow glass with only its base sitting in water. Before long it had sprouted roots and finally grew into a large plant. But her real treasure was a date tree, also grown from a seed, that grew so big it wouldn't fit in the house and had to be given away to a local day-care centre in the end.

As we open the Book of Psalms we come across a treasure of images and symbols. Psalm 1 initiates this immediately. The choices we make are pictured as paths that we take either right or wrong; and the right choice is as a tree that is watered and so prospers. The wicked are imagined as chaff with no substance and are unwanted to be blown away and discarded.

Psalm 1, above, says that when we make the right choice we are like a tree planted by a stream. Because our roots go down into the earth and find water, our leaves will not falloff and we shall have fruit in due season. When we turn to God and turn away from other temptations with the help of the Holy Spirit we shall flourish and produce what St Paul called the "fruits of the Spirit" ('love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control').

My mother may not have produced fruit with her plants but as a faithful Christian she produced much spiritual fruit in her life. Today let us freshly examine Paul's list of fruits and ask God's help each of us to produce more.

Holy Spirit,
power of the Living God,
we seek Your help this day.
May we make the right choices
and follow the right path,
rejecting what is unworthy,
by seeking Your will.
Strengthen our desire to grow in faith,
and to produce better quality fruit
in our life.
Amen.