psalm 1: whom do you allow to influence you - thursday 7th week

There is something curious in our responsorial psalm, psalm number 1.  Instead of simply saying do not be wicked it says instead, Blessed be the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked.  Instead of simply saying do not sin, it says Blessed be the man who does not walk in the way of sinners.  Instead of simply saying do not act like the insolent, do not mock God, it says instead do not sit in the company of the insolent.  Why not just say it directly, why not say it plainly? 

Well, it can't and this psalm chooses not to, because this psalm is not talking about committing sin, it is not about being a sinner.  Instead it asks the question whom do you allow to influence you?  Whom or what do you allow to shape your life?  To whom do you give your attention to?  If you notice the contrast in the psalm is not wicked versus righteous, sinner versus saint, ungodly versus godly.  Instead the contrast centers on listening to the counsel of the wicked, walking in the way of sinner, sitting in the company of the insolent versus delighting in the way of the Lord, meditating on is law, day and night.  It is about whom do you allow to influence your words, thoughts and actions; whom do you listen to when you make decisions; whom do you consult when you make judgments?

Is it your anger or is it the law of the Lord?  Is it your vanity, to appear well and be praised by people or is it the word of God?  What do you listen to, where do you train your ear – is it in the fad, in the opinion of the majority, in what will gain you applause or is it Jesus and his teachings on forgiveness and love?

The world is a noisy place, not just of noises measurable by intensity and decibels, but a cacophony of voices, a myriad of voices, a cacophony of outright lies and half-truths and lies pretending to be truths.  Now we even hear of alternative facts, and probably later we will have alternative truths for those who do not like the real and painful truths. 

Psalm 1 tells us that in God, in his word, in his laws we will find the right influence that will lead us to happiness.  For those who delight on the law of the Lord, those who meditate on his law, day and night will be like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade.  And whatever he does, prospers."

In many ways too, in our work with the young we are called to help them attune themselves to God and to allow the Lord to work his way to influence them.  Gone are those days when we could just simply say, do not do that or you will go to hell; do not do that or you will earn the wrath of God.  It does not work that way anymore.  Either they laugh at us or ignore us.  Many times it's what influences them - the people they go with, what they often hear, what they often watch, where they expose themselves often, their environment.  Part of our mission is to become an influence not just for the good but above all for God.  This is what our religious houses and even our persons should be and should become – to provide an influence that would bring them back to God.