"A Lesson from Joyce Kilmer"
A sermon preached by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) based on Psalm 1.
Perhaps some of you remember Dr. Richard Rittenhouse. Richard, and his wife Betsy were members here at Edgemont. In fact, they came to Edgemont not long after I became pastor here and they quickly became faithful members and close friends of mine. I cherish the times I was able to spend with them, especially Richard prior to his death. Richard was a professor of Biology at Radford University – a very intelligent man, to say the least. Yet he was also a quiet and humble man. As you might imagine, he had a love for nature. In fact, I have heard the term “tree hugger” but I just assumed it was used rhetorically. Richard, on the other hand, was a literal “tree hugger.” Betsy, his wife, told me that if he came across a beautiful tree while they were out driving, he would stop the car, get out and literally embrace the tree. He had a love for nature. He told me on many occasions that nature was God’s sanctuary, which frightened me to some degree. You see, if nature was God’s sanctuary, then I had committed a mortal sin. I had desecrated “God’s sanctuary.”
The house Amber and I used to live in, in Christiansburg, had several enormous birch trees in the yard. These trees had grown to the point that they were covering everything. So, my father had volunteered to help me do a little pruning on them. However, our pruning turned into butchering. Needless to say, there wasn’t much left of the birch trees when we were finished. And one Sunday morning I was talking to Richard after church and asked him about birch trees and, whether or not, if someone had, let’s say, butchered one would it grow back out. He never answered my question, rather, he began to rant and rave about how he couldn’t understand why people did that to trees. He said, “Trees are meant to be left alone! Once you cut them they lose their natural beauty and shape.” I stood there shaking my head in agreement and said, “I agree, I just can’t understand why my neighbors did that to their birch trees, but do you think they’re going to grow back out?”
One of Richard’s favorite poems, which portrays his love for trees was written by Joyce Kilmer and is simply entitled, “Trees.” I read that poem at Richard’s Memorial Service and following the service his family planted the oak tree that is in the cemetery at the back of the church in his memory. I also read that poem a couple of months ago at our Tree Dedication Ceremony for Lois and Devota Spicer. That following Sunday, Jim Williams told me that I had brought back a lot of memories for him by reading that poem. Most of us are familiar with Kilmer’s poem, it reads:
“I think that I shall never see
a poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
a tree that looks at God all day,
and lifts her leafy arms to pray;
a tree that may in Summer wear
a nest of robins in her hair;
upon whose bosom snow has lain;
who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
but only God can make a tree.”
Certainly, I think the Psalmist would agree with Kilmer’s poem. You know, I like trees! Maybe I am not as infatuated with them as Richard was, but to me they are beautiful and they are a symbol of strength.
It has been said that in the Book of Psalms we become aware of God as a person, not just as an abstract idea; but as a real, intimate and personal God! And certainly, as the Psalmist reminds us our relationship is strengthened through this awareness. The Book of Psalms consist of 150 individual psalms which make up what is called the Psalter and these psalms are divided into five separate books, each ending with a similar benediction. A lot of people do not realize that the Book of Psalms actually covers a period of about 900 years. For an example, Psalm 90 is labeled, "A Prayer of Moses - The Man of God" thus, dating that psalm to at least the 15th century B.C. As you may know, most of the psalms were written by David.
If we read the Old Testament in the original Hebrew, we would discover that about 50 percent of it is written in poetic form. However, keep in mind, poetry in Hebrew is not the same as poetry in English. We usually think of poetry as rhyme involving sounds. And while, oftentimes, Hebrew poetry does include rhyme, it is more often a play on words which, sadly, is oftentimes not distinguishable in the English translation. It is a rhyming of ideas called parallelism. The Hebrew poets matched ideas rather than sounds. They would write a line, then shadow it with another line. It would be like looking across a calm lake at a row of houses and observing the reflection of those houses in the water upside down.
And our Scripture Lesson this morning is a wonderful example of these parallelisms. In fact, within this chapter we have an example of four of the five styles of parallelism common to the Book of Psalms and other Hebrew poetry. The first type of parallelism we find in Psalm 1 is called “synthetic parallelism,” this is where the poet takes an idea or thought and with each verse expands on it. An example of this is in the very first verse, which reads: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful..." We see that with each line the poet - the psalmist expands his idea of the blessed man. The second type of parallelism is called “synonymous parallelism” which makes two elements similar. For an example the Psalmist wrote in verse 2, "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." The third type is called “emblematic parallelism,” in which the first line contains a figure of speech, and the following lines explain and expand that figure. An example of this is found in verse 3 where the Psalmist writes, "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bring forth its fruit in its season, whose leaves shall also not whiter; and whatever he does shall prosper." And the fourth type of parallelism found in Psalm 1 is called “antithetical parallelism,” in which there is a contrast. An example of this is found in verse 6, "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." In this magnificent Psalm we have examples of four of the five parallelisms found in Hebrew poetry. What a powerful psalm this is, not only because of its literary style, but also because of its message.
Here the Psalmist presents us with a vivid contrast between the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. He begins by telling us what classifies a person as being "blessed." A better translation in the Hebrew would be, "O the happiness of a person who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night."
Our delight in the "law of the LORD" is not found in the 632 laws of Leviticus or in the Mosaic law, so to speak. Our delight is not found in the law or laws in that sense. Rather, as the Psalmist reminds us, our delight is in the way God leads us in Word and Spirit, "day and night," the Psalmist says, "in the way of the righteous" – in our journey of faith.
But then, in verse 4, we have that “antithetical parallelism,” the contrast in which the Psalmist literally says, in Hebrew, "not so, are the wicked, for they are like chaff that the wind drives away." They have no roots - they have no grounding, no connection to the source of life and strength - thus, the wind - life blows them away!
The Psalmist paints for us the righteous man and the wicked man. And, you might be thinking, but how can I be considered righteous? The Hebrew word here for "righteous" is tsaddiyq, which literally means "to be just," or "lawful" or "blameless." And certainly, none of these could describe our lives. In comparison to God’s law we could never be considered tsaddiyq - righteous. We are far from it! But thankfully, we do not have to obtain this righteousness on our own. Instead, the righteousness of God comes to us through faith and trust. It comes when we find ourselves, as we are told here in Psalm 1, planted and rooted deep in the soil of God. It is then, that we derive, we draw from God’s righteousness, just as a tree’s root system would draw and drink from the water in the ground - so we drink from Living Water of God. This is probably best illustrated by Paul in his use of a powerful Greek word to describe the "righteousness of God" as a legal transaction in which God brings people into his perfect righteousness and into right standing with him through faith and trust in Christ Jesus. We obtain this righteousness of God when we root ourselves, like a tree, into the soil of God!
But then, like a tree, we must become a symbol! To the Hebrews, this use of the word "tree" would have given the image of a desert date palm that has been firmly planted in a well-watered oasis. Everything about the tree is valuable and productive. And likewise, the righteous are valuable and productive to God - people in whom he finds pleasure and who pleasure him through bearing fruit and living in faithfulness and obedience.
I read once that when a tree is uprooted or severed it doesn’t always die immediately. In fact, it may live for some time depending on its roots and how much water the trunk has absorbed - the bark doesn’t turn brown immediately and the leaves remain green for some time. It would appear that the tree is fine, but in actuality it has been severed from its roots - the very source of its life.
There are many who are like that today! They are walking around, they are in the church; yet, their spiritual roots have been torn away and severed from God. Oh, sure, they may appear to be fine. They may appear to be healthy and vital, but deep down their roots have been disconnected from the source of strength and life - God! And, in time, their spirits will dry up. How deep do your roots run? How deep do the roots of this church run? Have our roots, have the roots of Edgemont been severed? Or, are we still connected to the source of life and strength - Christ?
"Returning to our roots" has a double meaning in this context. We need to return to the roots of our faith, to the ancient words of Scripture that remind us again and again to trust in the Living God, to stay "rooted" and connected to the Divine. Like Joyce Kilmer and Richard Rittenhouse, I think the Psalmist would agree, “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree.” But what about your life, is that true of your life? Does your life reflect a life that is rooted and grounded in the Word and Spirit of God? May we continue to dig into God’s Word and be watered by God’s Spirit that our lives may be lovely. Amen.
The house Amber and I used to live in, in Christiansburg, had several enormous birch trees in the yard. These trees had grown to the point that they were covering everything. So, my father had volunteered to help me do a little pruning on them. However, our pruning turned into butchering. Needless to say, there wasn’t much left of the birch trees when we were finished. And one Sunday morning I was talking to Richard after church and asked him about birch trees and, whether or not, if someone had, let’s say, butchered one would it grow back out. He never answered my question, rather, he began to rant and rave about how he couldn’t understand why people did that to trees. He said, “Trees are meant to be left alone! Once you cut them they lose their natural beauty and shape.” I stood there shaking my head in agreement and said, “I agree, I just can’t understand why my neighbors did that to their birch trees, but do you think they’re going to grow back out?”
One of Richard’s favorite poems, which portrays his love for trees was written by Joyce Kilmer and is simply entitled, “Trees.” I read that poem at Richard’s Memorial Service and following the service his family planted the oak tree that is in the cemetery at the back of the church in his memory. I also read that poem a couple of months ago at our Tree Dedication Ceremony for Lois and Devota Spicer. That following Sunday, Jim Williams told me that I had brought back a lot of memories for him by reading that poem. Most of us are familiar with Kilmer’s poem, it reads:
“I think that I shall never see
a poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
a tree that looks at God all day,
and lifts her leafy arms to pray;
a tree that may in Summer wear
a nest of robins in her hair;
upon whose bosom snow has lain;
who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
but only God can make a tree.”
Certainly, I think the Psalmist would agree with Kilmer’s poem. You know, I like trees! Maybe I am not as infatuated with them as Richard was, but to me they are beautiful and they are a symbol of strength.
It has been said that in the Book of Psalms we become aware of God as a person, not just as an abstract idea; but as a real, intimate and personal God! And certainly, as the Psalmist reminds us our relationship is strengthened through this awareness. The Book of Psalms consist of 150 individual psalms which make up what is called the Psalter and these psalms are divided into five separate books, each ending with a similar benediction. A lot of people do not realize that the Book of Psalms actually covers a period of about 900 years. For an example, Psalm 90 is labeled, "A Prayer of Moses - The Man of God" thus, dating that psalm to at least the 15th century B.C. As you may know, most of the psalms were written by David.
If we read the Old Testament in the original Hebrew, we would discover that about 50 percent of it is written in poetic form. However, keep in mind, poetry in Hebrew is not the same as poetry in English. We usually think of poetry as rhyme involving sounds. And while, oftentimes, Hebrew poetry does include rhyme, it is more often a play on words which, sadly, is oftentimes not distinguishable in the English translation. It is a rhyming of ideas called parallelism. The Hebrew poets matched ideas rather than sounds. They would write a line, then shadow it with another line. It would be like looking across a calm lake at a row of houses and observing the reflection of those houses in the water upside down.
And our Scripture Lesson this morning is a wonderful example of these parallelisms. In fact, within this chapter we have an example of four of the five styles of parallelism common to the Book of Psalms and other Hebrew poetry. The first type of parallelism we find in Psalm 1 is called “synthetic parallelism,” this is where the poet takes an idea or thought and with each verse expands on it. An example of this is in the very first verse, which reads: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful..." We see that with each line the poet - the psalmist expands his idea of the blessed man. The second type of parallelism is called “synonymous parallelism” which makes two elements similar. For an example the Psalmist wrote in verse 2, "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." The third type is called “emblematic parallelism,” in which the first line contains a figure of speech, and the following lines explain and expand that figure. An example of this is found in verse 3 where the Psalmist writes, "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bring forth its fruit in its season, whose leaves shall also not whiter; and whatever he does shall prosper." And the fourth type of parallelism found in Psalm 1 is called “antithetical parallelism,” in which there is a contrast. An example of this is found in verse 6, "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." In this magnificent Psalm we have examples of four of the five parallelisms found in Hebrew poetry. What a powerful psalm this is, not only because of its literary style, but also because of its message.
Here the Psalmist presents us with a vivid contrast between the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. He begins by telling us what classifies a person as being "blessed." A better translation in the Hebrew would be, "O the happiness of a person who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night."
Our delight in the "law of the LORD" is not found in the 632 laws of Leviticus or in the Mosaic law, so to speak. Our delight is not found in the law or laws in that sense. Rather, as the Psalmist reminds us, our delight is in the way God leads us in Word and Spirit, "day and night," the Psalmist says, "in the way of the righteous" – in our journey of faith.
But then, in verse 4, we have that “antithetical parallelism,” the contrast in which the Psalmist literally says, in Hebrew, "not so, are the wicked, for they are like chaff that the wind drives away." They have no roots - they have no grounding, no connection to the source of life and strength - thus, the wind - life blows them away!
The Psalmist paints for us the righteous man and the wicked man. And, you might be thinking, but how can I be considered righteous? The Hebrew word here for "righteous" is tsaddiyq, which literally means "to be just," or "lawful" or "blameless." And certainly, none of these could describe our lives. In comparison to God’s law we could never be considered tsaddiyq - righteous. We are far from it! But thankfully, we do not have to obtain this righteousness on our own. Instead, the righteousness of God comes to us through faith and trust. It comes when we find ourselves, as we are told here in Psalm 1, planted and rooted deep in the soil of God. It is then, that we derive, we draw from God’s righteousness, just as a tree’s root system would draw and drink from the water in the ground - so we drink from Living Water of God. This is probably best illustrated by Paul in his use of a powerful Greek word to describe the "righteousness of God" as a legal transaction in which God brings people into his perfect righteousness and into right standing with him through faith and trust in Christ Jesus. We obtain this righteousness of God when we root ourselves, like a tree, into the soil of God!
But then, like a tree, we must become a symbol! To the Hebrews, this use of the word "tree" would have given the image of a desert date palm that has been firmly planted in a well-watered oasis. Everything about the tree is valuable and productive. And likewise, the righteous are valuable and productive to God - people in whom he finds pleasure and who pleasure him through bearing fruit and living in faithfulness and obedience.
I read once that when a tree is uprooted or severed it doesn’t always die immediately. In fact, it may live for some time depending on its roots and how much water the trunk has absorbed - the bark doesn’t turn brown immediately and the leaves remain green for some time. It would appear that the tree is fine, but in actuality it has been severed from its roots - the very source of its life.
There are many who are like that today! They are walking around, they are in the church; yet, their spiritual roots have been torn away and severed from God. Oh, sure, they may appear to be fine. They may appear to be healthy and vital, but deep down their roots have been disconnected from the source of strength and life - God! And, in time, their spirits will dry up. How deep do your roots run? How deep do the roots of this church run? Have our roots, have the roots of Edgemont been severed? Or, are we still connected to the source of life and strength - Christ?
"Returning to our roots" has a double meaning in this context. We need to return to the roots of our faith, to the ancient words of Scripture that remind us again and again to trust in the Living God, to stay "rooted" and connected to the Divine. Like Joyce Kilmer and Richard Rittenhouse, I think the Psalmist would agree, “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree.” But what about your life, is that true of your life? Does your life reflect a life that is rooted and grounded in the Word and Spirit of God? May we continue to dig into God’s Word and be watered by God’s Spirit that our lives may be lovely. Amen.
posted by Pastor Christopher @ 11:46 AM
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