Scripture: Psalms 1:1–6 (First Nations Version)
We welcome Rev. Dr. Angie Barker Jackson, who joins us as our guest preacher for two Sundays (8/23 and 8/30) during our Season of Creation: Living Waters summer series!
Many of us will remember, not that many years ago, when Angie was a member at FBC Lawrence. Angie is now an ABC minister serving at Berkeley School of Theology in Berkeley, CA, where she has been the VP of Institutional Advancement since 2023. Before that, Angie’s ministry service included nine years at Central Seminary, as well as pastoring in Kansas and Illinois. Her ministry passions are stewardship, generosity, and leadership formation, and she is a leader and substitute preacher at CrossWalk Community Church in Napa, CA. Angie loves to travel, enjoys good coffee, food, and wine, reads avidly, and plays word games competitively.
Psalm 1 (First Nations Version)
1 Harmony and well-being rest on those who do not walk the path of the bad-hearted, the ones who do not stand with those who stir up disharmony, those who will not sit in a circle where others are spoken of with scorn and disrespect.
2 Instead, they take joy in Grandfather’s clear instructions. As the sun and the moon circle the sky, they think deeply about his ways.
3 The ones who walk this path will be like trees planted by flowing waters. When the harvest moon comes, they will bear much fruit. Their leaves will not dry up, and all they put their hands to will go well for them.
4 But this is not so for the ones who follow their bad hearts. They are like dry corn husks blown about by the wind.
5 There will be no seat for them to speak in the council house. When the good-hearted gather, there will be no room for those who follow their bad-hearted ways.
6 For Grandfather walks with the one who have good hearts and good minds. He turns his thoughts away from those on the wrong path, who will come to a bad end.
Let us begin today by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Kanza, Osage, and Pawnee nations, who lived, hunted, farmed, fished, and cared for these lands and waters for generations.
We honor the sacred waterways that sustain this region: the Kansas River, and the Wakarusa River. These waters have nourished Indigenous communities for centuries and continue to sustain life in this valley today.
We also acknowledge the history of forced removal, during which Eastern nations—including the Lënape, Shawnee, Wyandot, and Potawatomi—were displaced onto reservations in this region, leaving enduring footprints on this soil and ripples in these waterways before further relocation.
May we commit to moving beyond words by seeking truth, respecting these lands and waters, and listening to Indigenous voices as we consider sustainable and equitable stewardship of these resources.
Welcome to the first Sunday in the Season of Creation! This morning we will reflect together on Psalm 1, and I will suggest that it offers a three-part invitation to flourishing and that there is More than a Metaphor within its verses.
I have chosen to read the First Nations Version of the Bible and to speak a land and water acknowledgement because the extra-biblical reading in which I was immersed while preparing for today kept bringing me back to the deeply ecological and unitive awareness that is inherent in Indigenous spirituality.
Those readings reinforced my own convictions that our world is non-dualistic. That is, there is no sacred-secular divide but ultimate Oneness. Humanity is a part of rather than apart from creation, and creation itself does not exist apart from God but lives and moves and has its being within God’s very self.
And, context always matters; the history of the local waterways and land cannot be separated from this moment in time because all things are interconnected.
I also bring my own contextual influences. Nearly 4 years ago, I left Kansas to make a life in the San Francisco Bay Area. It did not all go as planned, but if I can borrow from Steve Jones in Sojourners [Sunday school class] this morning, I have experienced synchronicity in many ways, one of which was to find an affordable-ish apartment in a waterfront marina community.
Most days after my morning coffee, I lace up my sneakers and walk the San Francisco Bay Trail — a public access trail that encircles the water and winds through the many communities that make up the greater Bay Area. The lapping water provides a steady rhythm for my pace; the sights and sounds of waterfowl and other creatures fill me with wonder; the morning fog wraps me like a prayer shawl. The greys, blues, and greens of the bay sparkle as the sun plays peekaboo through the notorious clouds and fog. This water is my peace, my prayer partner, and my personal trainer. Like no other time in my life, I’m profoundly aware of Living Water.
And on that trail along the water that is pure gift, I’m also face to face with the distinctions between rich and poor; privileged and underserved. I walk past the gates that separate the million and multi-million dollar homes from the public trail. I notice the fishermen slipping their trawlers into the water only feet away from yachts and sailboats. I observe kayakers and paddle boarders. I see the families who drive to the waterfront parks from other parts of town. The Living Water calls us all.
Both this week and next, I’ve elected to use selections from the book of Psalms. Joshua James, author of Psalms for Normal People, refers to the book of Psalms as a mixtape, multi-CD boxed set, or playlist. No matter what generational cohort you belong to, surely you recognize one of those musical references.
The Psalter is an interesting book — the product of many disparate sources — all of which are really old, really diverse, and really theologically dense — arranged and rearranged repeatedly by many editors over a long period of time. The collection itself is comprised of 5 distinct books — probably mirroring the 5-book structure of the Torah of the Hebrew Bible. Woven throughout the Psalms are themes from Israel’s history, laws, wisdom literature, and prophetic writings.
Today we read Psalm 1 — the opening song on CD #1, if you will. It sets the stage for the entire collection. Using Walter Brueggemann’s genre categories, it is a Psalm of “Orientation” — it represents ancient Israel’s core theology, like a statement of faith or a picture of how the world should be. A righteous life looks like this. A wicked life looks like that. God is with the righteous. God rejects the wicked. That’s the theological orientation of Ancient Israel.
Now, we are pretty far removed from Ancient Israel historically, linguistically, contextually, cosmologically, scientifically, and theologically, so I wonder what is there for us?
Using a process-relational theology lens, I want to suggest that there is a threefold invitation within Psalm 1 and that our response matters — not simply for our own sakes but for the well-being of our neighbors.
The first invitation I see is an invitation to a Spirit-oriented life. Psalm 1 opens with a picture of what a blessed or happy life looks like — a life with harmony and well-being. Those who do not stir up disharmony or walk the bad hearted path take joy in the instructions of God. These individuals think deeply about God’s ways. One who is oriented to the Spirit loves God with their heart, soul, and strength.
The ones who walk the Spirit’s path are like trees planted by streams of living water. Their root systems reach for and drink deeply from the life-sustaining stream. The living water nourishes, and the trunk and branches are strong, growing, and producing fruit in season. The tree is flourishing. What a beautiful metaphor for the Spiritual life!
We are invited to be like this tree. To plant ourselves in God’s presence. To reach toward God for spiritual nourishment. To allow the living water of God’s love to still our anxieties, quench our thirsts, cleanse our unrighteousness, and refresh our souls. To feast on the nutrients of God’s character that we might grow and develop those characteristics in our own process of becoming. The tree planted by the living water is like the human being who desires to love God and follow God’s ways.
But, I believe there is More than a Metaphor in these verses.
The second invitation I see is an invitation to wholistic well-being. The tree is flourishing in more than one way. It is strong and steady, so it probably has a sturdy trunk and deep roots. It produces fruit and has healthy green leaves. It’s attentive to the timing of the seasons.
And here is where we begin to move through the metaphor and into the material. Though the tree and the living water anchor us in rich imagery, there are more than spiritual truisms here. While an individual life oriented and attuned to the Spirit is more likely to experience harmony and well-being, the fact is that humans can’t live on Spirit alone.
I’m reminded of a quote from Walter Brueggemann that I read years ago but that sticks with me to this very day: “The Bible is relentlessly material,” he said. That is, God cares about the physical and material realities of life. It is clear throughout Israel’s law and prophets that there is more to this life than the spiritual. People need to eat and drink; work and rest; make families and govern communities. Caring for these individual and communal needs is another way of loving God.
Like the tree in Psalm 1, we actually, literally need water. Our bodies are comprised of 60% water, and we can’t live more than 3–7 days without it. Since we are talking about living water, let’s acknowledge plainly that water means life for the human body, for human communities, and for our planet home.
Beyond the basics of physical life, access to water impacts human flourishing in other ways. In his book Blue Mind, Wallace J. Nichols unpacks the surprising science that shows how being near, in, on, or under water can make you happier, healthier, more connected, and better at what you do. His research concludes: Our brains are wired for water.
It’s why people groups throughout history have settled along riverbanks, lake shores, and coastlines. It’s why in our time waterfront property costs are astronomical. It’s why we vacation in the islands, at the seashore, by the lake, or on cruise ships. It’s why hotels, doctor’s offices, public parks, and fancy restaurants install water features. It’s why, every day that I can, I walk the trail along the San Francisco Bay near my home. Maybe it’s why Kansas City has all those fountains!
Water not only provides food and drink for our bodies, but also calms our anxious nervous systems, lowers our blood pressure, invites us to physical activity, and brings us together to play and connect with others. We need water in myriad ways. Water is something of a miracle worker.
Following the first invitation to a Spirit-oriented life, this second invitation takes us further with this truth — life in the Spirit is also life in the body, life in the mind, and life in the community. We are invited to flourish as whole persons, not disembodied souls.
The third invitation I want us to consider is an invitation to collective water justice. It beckons us deeper into the community and beyond. This invitation in the tradition of the prophets invites us to think critically about our environment, ecology, economics, equality, and equity. It demands that we ask hard questions like: who has access to life-giving clean water for eating and drinking and who doesn’t? Who has access to the physical and mental and psychological and spiritual and recreational and communal benefits of water and who doesn’t?
Which neighborhoods and communities have swimming pools? Access to swimming lessons? How much does it cost to participate in water sports of all kinds? Do lakefront and riverside neighborhoods have public waterfront gathering spaces, trails, and boat launches? How are our waterways being impacted by industrial, technological, and economic factors? Who profits? Who is harmed?
This invitation calls us to care about whether our neighbors have access to water and all of its benefits for a whole, healthy life individually and collectively. It urges us to pay attention to systems that restrict access — hoard — divert — pollute—the life-giving water that the entire creation needs to thrive. It insists that we reject government and corporate policies that monetize the most abundant compound on the earth’s surface, thereby punishing the poorest and most vulnerable among us.
Water and access to it have been weaponized throughout human history. If we return to the land and water acknowledgment, we are reminded of this truth. Here in Lawrence and all around the world across time, people have been conquered and colonized, evicted and exiled from the lands and waterways that nourished their souls, their bodies, and their communities — like trees uprooted from their source of living water and transplanted without care or concern for their well-being.
Dear friends, the way of the Spirit is spiritual, wholistic, and just. Jesus of Nazareth, whom we follow and model our lives after, was himself filled with and anointed by the Spirit. He summed up the entirety of the religious teachings of Ancient Israel in today’s Gospel reading. The First Nations Version renders it this way, “You must love the Great Spirit from deep within, with the strength of your arms, the thoughts of your mind, and the courage of your heart. And, You must love your fellow human beings in the same way you love yourselves.”
I believe this three-part invitation offers us a path for loving God not only spiritually but with our whole selves and for extending that love to our human, creaturely, and watery earth neighbors.
The way of the Spirit, which is the way of Jesus, is always the way that leads to life in all its dimensions. Living water is a gift for the flourishing of all creation, and we are called to protect it, preserve it, and ensure that all have access to its many benefits.
As I close today, I invite you to consider these two reflection questions:
How might the Spirit be inviting us toward not only spiritual but wholistic well-being?
How might the Spirit be calling us toward water justice for all our neighbors?
Let us pray.
Spirit of the Living God,
We thank you for all the ways that you invite us into flourishing lives by following your path of wholeness and shalom. Today and in this season of creation we are especially grateful for your many gifts of water. We pray to be more deeply aware of our own body-mind-spirit connection with water and to be more attuned to the wholistic water needs in our community and the world. And now, anoint us and refresh us with the Living Water that we might faithfully follow you with good hearts and good minds toward harmony and well-being. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Psalm 1 scripture quotations are taken from the First Nations Version, © 2021 by Rain Ministries Inc. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. All rights reserved.
Leave a Reply