The Deeply Rooted Tree

by Sr Rene Weeks ~ February 7, 2008

The psalm balances on the central image of the well-rooted tree.

Psalms are products of the desert where trees do not grow unless they are carefully nurtured or just fortunate enough to sprout in a natural oasis

Even the smallest tree occasions wonder and rejoicing in the desert where the glare of sunshine and heat can craze and kill.

The deeply rooted tree hymned in Psalm 1 speaks loudly to us of divine intervention. God the gardener carefully irrigates this tree with water from a nearby well or a persistent stream.

This image reminds us of who we are in Christ and who we have said on our very best days that we want to be, so strongly rooted that nothing can shake the source of our faith even as we reach out to the unknown and the uncertain.

The tree roots us not only for Lent but for life.

As a Dominican in a congregation soon to unite with six other congregations the image of the tree encourages me to remain rooted in the gifts of my own tradition and history while reaching out to a spacious future. And the tree provides hope and security in all the uncertain moments of our earthly pilgrimage.

On the days of our Lenten journey (and our life journey as well) when we feel shaken or afraid or less than confident that our path is right we still trust that our roots are deep, deep enough to be constantly nurtured by God our desert gardener! And with deep roots our branches will be strong, our leaves will flourish, and in all that we do we will give life!

Usually in preparing to preach I spend my time studying and meditating on the first reading from Scripture and/or the Gospel.

But today I found myself drawn to the Responsorial Psalm.

Psalm 1 functions as a preface to the Book of Psalms, which is in reality a collection of sung prayers. And I believe it could also function as a “preface psalm” for our Lenten season with its prayers and acts of penance and charity. The Psalmist  invites us always to choose the way of blessedness and to shun evil.

Because the words of the psalms have become very familiar to us over the years and years of praying them I looked for a different translation of this psalm in order that I could hear the words with “fresh ears.”

Hear these new words along with me:

 

Blessed are those

who walk hand in hand with goodness,

who stand beside virtue,

who sit in the seat of truth;

for their delight is in the Spirit of Love,

and in Love’s heart they dwell

day and night.

They are like trees planted by streams of water,

that yield fruit in due season,

and their leaves flourish;

and in all that they do, they give life.

The unloving are not so;

they are like dandelions

which the wind blows away.

Turning from the Heart of Love

they will know suffering and pain.

They will be isolated from wisdom;

for Love knows the way of truth,

the way of ignorance will perish.

Nan Merrill