Reflection as a practice of discipleship

 Reflection  

Psalm 1 (NRSVA)

'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;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 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.'

Have you ever been mentally and emotionally stuck, frozen in your decision making? I have. Advice seems to come to us from every source; family, friends, politicians, pastors, churches, advice books, our 'holy books' not to mention the plethora of 'life-interpreters' queuing up with their version of our lives. We need a process for becoming ourselves, a process for making decisions, asking questions of ourselves, a way of expressing doubt, peaceful disagreement and a way of discussing with ourselves / others the stuff that matters. Processes are needed for working things through and making more sense of things as we plan for the future and become more like our authentic selves. 

I love Psalm 1 because of the opportunity it promises us for a deep rooted experience of wellbeing.  This wellbeing is situated in the changing seasons of life; the metaphor of a tree next to a life sustaining river is obviously a nod back to the Genesis garden and a nod forward to the Revelation rest. The tree, in the fullness of time, produces good fruit and when fruit is out of season the tree remains healthy with its green leaves. The picture is of abundance, of blessing of happiness. 

The question must surely be what are the means for this blessing, this abundance to be realised in our lives? Two elements need to be present; a world view rooted in the 'Law of the Lord' and the process of meditation, musing, reflecting on this 'Law'. When Jesus was quizzed about this He maintained that the Law could be summed up as 'love of God and love of neighbour'. Values, attitudes and beliefs expressed in neighbourliness and a commitment to mutual wellbeing. 

So here we are, stuck in crisis and needing a way to move on to a better place.  The way forward is facilitated by the process of reflection on the world view of God. Seeing, perhaps for the very first time, the circumstances of our lives from God's perspective. This is a process of reflecting on the natural law of wellbeing based on love and solidarity. It requires to be meditated upon, churned over, thought about, discussed, decisions made, plans and actions taken. We have to somehow incorporate the process into our daily lives to produce the fruit of wellbeing. This wellbeing will last throughout the seasons of our lives until we find ourselves again back in the garden, resting and rooted next to the river of life. 

Over the next while a small group of disciples of Jesus are going to reflect on these things and we are going to meet on a Wednesday evening to catch up on how we are all getting on. You are welcome to join us here on this page or in person or both. Whats the alternative? Scoffing, cynicism, giving up, turning our face away from hope and solidarity with our neighbours? Must we accept as inevitable a 'death and taxes'  world view and a loveless life of profits before people?  

Hope to see you around the conversation table sometime soon.