--Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat
Carlyle Marney, great preacher used to say when I find
myself in trouble I always turn to the Psalms. The Psalms were the first worship
guide for the people of God. They were also the first hymns the worshippers
ever sung. When their plea went up to God in hard times asking: “How shall we
sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” those songs were from the Psalms. But
they taught us that the Psalms of praise and lament and thanksgiving could be
sung in even the hardest of times. In fact, we might say that if we were to
trace back to one of their secrets of survival we would find the Psalter as
part of the answer. Dr. Marney was right—when we get into trouble we believers
can find help and hope in the book we now call Psalms.
When the editors collected the Psalms over many years—Psalm 1 was not the first Psalm that was written—but it became a prelude or overture
of all that would follow. The Psalm begins talking about how one might find
happiness. I am struck by the analogy which the writer used to describe
the person of faith. The happy ones are “...like trees planted by streams of
water...” What can we learn from this
image of a tree?
Rooted in the Earth
The tree is rooted in the earth
and tied to the world. And if this is true it means that this tree is planted
in the midst of the world. Funny how people faith have always had a hard time
with this concept. And so much of our talk has been on the spiritual—as opposed
to the worldly. Through the years in hard times God’s people would talk about
heaven and the end times and when Jesus would come in the clouds and Armageddon
would take place. Such talk ignores the hard-living people because so much of
what goes on inside the church on Sundays is a far, far cry from the hurting
needs of their lives. Our Lord said, "go into all the world...” to preach that
"God so loved the world...".
Jesus came and
lived his life among ordinary people. He became one of them and in that
incarnation--he learned something of who they were and they discovered
something of God. And the church is to be an extension of that incarnation in
the world. And if we make any kind of impact on the world we will speak the
language of the people. We cannot ignore the soil in which we are all planted. Jesus
consorted with common people. He invited riff-raff to dinner. He spoke to
prostitutes on the street. The little people loved him. His parables were about
things they could understand--no holy words--just simple stories about birds
and boys that left home and people going to Temple to pray and seeds planted in
the ground. And later when the New Testament was written it was written in
koine Greek--which was the language of everyday.
So the tree is planted
in the soil of our lives. And if this is true this tree is to reflect the day
and age in which we live. How in the world should we come away on Sunday never
hearing a single word about poverty or health care or those without jobs or
addicted to one of many things around us. Why you can go into many churches and
you might as well be back in the twelfth century.
In an old book by
Howard Clinebell he asked some basic questions about the church. The way we
answer these questions just might tell us if we are rooted in reality or not.
This is what he asked:
"Does the
church in thought and practice build bridges or barriers between people?
...Strengthen or
weaken a basic sense of trust and relatedness to the universe?
...Stimulate or
hamper the growth of inner freedom and personal responsibility?
...Provide
effective or faulty means of helping people move from a sense of guilt to
forgiveness?
...Increase or
lessen the enjoyment of life?
...Handle the vital
energies of sex and aggressiveness in constructive or repressive ways?
...Encourage love
(and growth) or fear?
...Give its members
a `frame of orientation and object of devotion' that is adequate in handling
their problems and pain
constructively?
...Encourage the
individual to relate to his unconscious in living symbols?
...Accommodate
itself to the neurotic patterns of the society or endeavor to change them?
...Strengthen or
weaken self-esteem?
--Howard Clinebell, Mental Health Ministry of the Local Church
You see, a tree
rooted in the reality of our lives helps us in a great many ways. We are a
worldly people. But this only part of the story.
Strong Root System
The tree is fed by
a strong root system. I am told that the roots of most trees are as long
underground as the tree is tall. The tree cannot stand without a strong root
system--it will just topple over. So,
the tree planted by the rivers of waters was fed by a stream that kept it
strong. "It yields its fruit in its season, its leaf does not wither...” in
all that he does the tree prospers..."(Ps. 1.3b)
What feeds the tree
will determine its strength and weakness. And this is why I love that verse in
Psalm 104.16: "The trees of the Lord are full of sap." Or those trees
that Jesus talked about: good tree and corrupt tree--the good tree brought
forth good fruit and the corrupt tree brought forth sorry fruit. (Matt. 7.17)
And so I keep coming back to our text today. "He is like a tree planted by
streams of water..." (Ps. 1.1.) Jeremiah understood this when he wrote of
the faithful: "He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its
roots by the stream, and does not fear when the heat comes, for its leaves
remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease
to bear fruit."(Jer. 17.7-8)
Once Paul looked
out at the church he loved at Ephesus. And this was his prayer for them: "...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that
you being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all
the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the
love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the
fullness of God." (Eph. 3.17-19) And then, in the next chapter, Paul talked
about those tossed to and fro, like trees blown over in a time of storm. And
then he added: "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in
every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body,
joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each
part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in
love." (Eph. 4. 15-16)
So we are to draw
power from the great source something powerful happens to us. We endure.
We continue to flourish despite the winds, the rain, and the
elements. We stand tall. But the
Psalmist was not finished.
Growth and Fertility
The tree is also symbol
of growth and fertility. No wonder when the writer looked for a symbol of
life--he chose a tree. For this is life-in-process.
This business is largely unfinished. So I see in this symbol a great deal of
hope and possibility. As long as the
tree grows it will live. When the tree ceases to grow--it begins to die.
Jesus cursed the
fig tree because it did not bear fruit. This was a parable of Israel. Because
they did not live up to their potential they had outlived their usefulness. And
so our task here is to bear fruit. For Jesus reminded us that by their fruit you shall
know them.
One day a friend
took me out in his side yard and showed me a tree. They were supposed to cut it
down, he said. There was a hole in the tree--and it was rotten. And everybody
advised him to cut it down. But he never got around to it. And a wonderful
thing happened. This tree broke all the rules. This tree continued to grow
around that rotted out hole. If you were to go there today you would see a
tree wounded--but yet growing.
And there are
people that sit on our pews—and sometimes even stand in our pulpits who carry
heavy burdens. The good news is that the gospel holds out new life especially
for the wounded. Hope and possibility. God is not finished with us yet. That,
too, is part of the symbol. But there’s
more tree talk.
Shade and Protection
The tree provided shade and protection. In a
desert land trees were a premium. They were places to pitch a tent, to build a
shrine and to settle disputes. The tree was a place to hide from the blaring
desert sun. Without an oasis from time to time--life in the desert would have
been unbearable.
One of the great
city planners of America was a man named Olmstead. He understood the power of
green living things. He planned Central Park in New York City and green acres
in many other cities of this country. In the middle of all that concrete he
purposefully carved out some green space. He said these special spots would
give the city a soul. And if you have ever visited one of those parks on a
Sunday afternoon and seen the kids playing and the lovers under the trees and
people on bicycles, jogging or just sitting there laughing--you understand. The
park becomes a place of renewal where people get in touch with their roots
again.
People in Bible
times, traveling through the hot, desert climate would suddenly come upon an
oasis. It was a place of shade. It was a place of water. It was a place of
refreshment. A stopping-off place. And there, at the oasis, they would rest for
a while and then they would be on their way.
And this is what the church is to be. An oasis--a stopping-off place. A
time when we can come in and discover peace and refreshment and then go on our
way.
This is why I love
a picture I discovered one day in Charleston. This watercolor hangs in my office reminding
me of what church ought to be. It is a scene of St. Philips in downtown Charleston.
In the picture--it is a rainy, rainy day. The streets are wet and it is gloomy.
And the robed choir is out in front of the church getting ready to process in. Each
choir member has an umbrella--standing there in the rain, getting ready for the procession to begin. And it seems to me that church, more than anything else, is
helping people to come in out of the storm. To provide a place of protection
from all the elements out there. We could almost call that a tree.
No comments:
Post a Comment