Beware the Quick Fix

Thursday After Ash Wednesday

Psalm 1

Blessed the man who follows not

       the counsel of the wicked,

Nor walks in the way of sinners,

       nor sits in the company of the insolent,

but delights in the law of the Lord

       and meditates on his law day and night.

Hmmm…

What I hear is---Watch out for that which attracts crowds. 

Where crowds gather swiftly…chances are there is ‘death’ at the center.

Someone being mocked or pointed at or even ogled

Delighting in the law of the Lord might mean that if I find myself

Following…walking…sitting

In such gathered company

My voice best be in support of the one left out…the scapegoated one

The one whose purpose is to produce a sense of righteousness for the giddy crowd

He is like a tree

       planted near running water,

that yields its fruit in due season,

       and whose leaves never fade.

       Whatever he does, prospers.

Hmmm…again

Why does it prosper
(think fruitful and flourishing…not 401k)

I can see the roots

Deep and satisfied as they dig into the healthy soil

Being fed through deep roots

Not fast food from the surface

Prospering…NOT quick fix

Not so the wicked, not so;

       they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

For the Lord watches over the way of the just,

       but the way of the wicked vanishes.

Hmmmm…a third time

Does it vanish because it is a ‘famished craving’?

The satisfaction lasts but an instant?

There is no real sustenance?

The fast-food vs rich accompanied meal holds up here

The event of sharing at table feeds the whole

Through those deep roots of communion

And it lasts

It more than lasts

It grows…and feeds…and grows