breathing room: Like A Tree // A Guiding Vision

sermon notes from the Vineyard Church of Milan 01/13/2013

video available at www.sundaystreams.com/go/MilanVineyard/ondemand

Happy is the man who has not walked in the wicked’s counsel,

nor in the way of offenders has stood,

nor in the session of scoffers has sat.

But the LORD’s teaching is his desire,

and His teaching he murmurs day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water,

that bears its fruit in season,

and its leaf does not wither—

and in all that he does he prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3 (Robert Alter’s Translation)

A new series starting today. “Like A Tree.” Focused on spiritual growth. A new year is beginning, and one of the graces that comes in the marking of time is the openness we have to new growth at the start of new seasons. We are reminded that in the ongoing flow of time, there are times for fresh starts, for new intentions, for change, for growth. This is such a time for us.

We will be considering spiritual growth and its connection to our souls, our interior lives. Its connection to our family lives, our central relational responsibilities. Its connection to our active lives, the work we do as worship in our world. And is connection to our missional lives, the calling or sense of purpose that Christ has given us.

Today: a guiding vision of spiritual growth from Psalm 1.

Happy is the man who has not walked in the wicked’s counsel,

nor in the way of offenders has stood,

nor in the session of scoffers has sat.

But the LORD’s teaching is his desire,

and His teaching he murmurs day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water,

that bears its fruit in season,

and its leaf does not wither—

and in all that he does he prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3

Notice the first word.

Happy.

In Hebrew, ‘ashrei.

Also translated “blessed.”

A kind of abiding happiness. Like there is a peace in that kind of happiness. A staying power. A deep down right with the world in the soul. Like a laugh and a smile and sigh of satisfaction rolled into one, with echoing rumbles reverberating in one’s bones.

That’s where spiritual growth leads us. To happy. To blessed. To ‘ashrei.

The writer of this poem knows that before us there are always two invitations. An invitation to seize some appealing, right-in-front-of-our-noses happiness for ourselves. And an invitation to come near to the happy God and learn from him how to have the life he has.

The first road forks into the desert, full of flashing neon signs advertising happiness. The other road can scarcely be called a road at all, it is simply the bank of a river, running from a mountain to the sea.

Happy, says the psalmist, is the one who chooses to be like a tree planted by that stream.

Spiritual growth always begins with trust. Trust that the God who is the author and source of life does in fact love us and desire us to have life and happiness. Trust that he knows the way to give it to us, that he knows what we need to experience it, that he is in fact in the life and happiness business, that we can surrender ourselves into his care.

Brings to mind the first three steps in AA.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.

Surely that is a picture of people who have chosen to abandon the road of neon signs and allow themselves to be planted by streams of water.

My understanding is this. Happiness is the natural state of God, and as human beings made to bear his image, it is meant to be ours as well. The news that has the last word in our world is the good news of God’s kingdom, and learning to hear and trust and live in the reality that good news sheds light on restores our capacity to be image-bearers, and to be blessed, happy.

Yes, there is suffering and pain and horror and evil all around us. And we will not be untouched by it. It will vex us and pummel us and try us to our breaking point. Nonetheless, God’s kingdom is breaking in and setting all things right, and the promise of the resurrection is that his ultimate victory is secured. Good will prevail. Love will win. Life will have the last word. And so the surest route to happiness is the one Jesus recommends: seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

So let us resolve to grow in trusting God, confident that the happiness we seek is already present in him, and we will know it more and more as we draw nearer, and he nourishes us and strengthens us.

Now notice this. Walked….Stood….Sat.

Happy is the man who has not walked in the wicked’s counsel,

nor in the way of offenders has stood,

nor in the session of scoffers has sat.

Picture it. There is a movement, a progression, a process.

Walking. One could change course at any time, veer off, slow down and let the wicked pass them by.

Standing. One has stopped and turned face to face, eye to eye with the offenders. Intimacy and vulnerability has increased. Contracts and deals are arranged in this posture.

Sitting. Things are settled now. It takes quite an effort to get up and leave. Deep conversation happens seated. The breaking of bread.

This is a picture of the process by which spiritual death happens, and it tells us as well that spiritual growth is a process. Perhaps one that begins at first with rousing ourselves from seated positions. Standing where we had previously been sitting. And then walking, but in a different direction, perhaps alone for a while until we have reached the banks of the river we left.

But the LORD’s teaching is his desire,

and His teaching he murmurs day and night.

Spiritual growth begins with desire for it. Growth doesn’t happen apart from desire. Not from a sense of should or duty or to please someone else. Rather, growth is fueled by a primal desire deep within us. And like all desires, it can be disregarded and abandoned, or nourished and brought to maturity.

If you find yourself desiring growth, know that the Holy Spirit is with you. It is God himself who has awakened in you a desire for more life, because he knows that eventually that desire will lead you to him. Say yes to it, give it its head, and let it run. It will lead you to water.

But the LORD’s teaching is his desire,

and His teaching he murmurs day and night.

murmur // hagah : a low muttering sound, what one does with text in a culture in which there is no silent reading. What we might today consider meditating, focused engagement.

Spiritual growth is supported by focused engagement. Intentional, regular (in the psalm, daily) practices to move us towards God, the source of our life. Without focused engagement, growth will be stunted at best. At worst, it may be arrested entirely, as we slowly wither in the rush and press of day to day life.

Over the course of the series, we’ll use some tools to help us murmur, to help us be intentionally focused, engaged. When we get to practical tips in a bit, we’ll talk about some simple prayers and scriptures to use every day from now until Lent.

And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water,

that bears its fruit in season,

and its leaf does not wither—

and in all that he does he prospers.

Here now is our central image. A tree planted by streams of water, bearing its fruit in season, its leaf not withering.

In a semi-arid climate like Israel, there is not enough precipitation for a tree to flourish, unless it is near a water source.

Have you ever felt like our lives take place in a semi-arid climate? If we want to flourish, we need feeder roots that go down deep, reaching for supply. Leaves that capture the sun and the rain. Minerals in the soil provided by the life and death of the community of trees around us.

The growth that comes to a tree planted by streams of water is a process too. It is slow, taking place over years, season after season. It can’t be rushed, but it can be nurtured. Nurtured by stretching out roots in prayer, study, caring for one’s self, engagement in the life of the community of disciples, responding to the call of mission.

So as we approach our study of spiritual growth over these next several weeks, the questions before us are these. Which image describes your life right now? The unhappy one who walks and stands and sits, chasing after the false seductions of happiness? Or the happy one who is planted like a tree on the bank of a river of life, trusting God and finding life in the deep places of her soul, bearing fruit in season, leaves green and growing towards the sun? And what do you desire, more than anything now, here, today, in the presence of God and this community of saints? Is it the neon lights and promises of this advertisement soaked world? Or is what you desire the good life that Jesus promises to teach us if we follow him?

If so, then come and join together with us these next few weeks.