Monday, 4th Week of Easter

“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever” (Psalm 52:8, page 657, BCP)

This is the Psalm appointed for Monday, in the fourth week of Easter, in Year One of the Daily Office lectionary, which begins on page 934 of the Book of Common Prayer. Interestingly, this psalm is not addressed to God, but to a “tyrant” who plots ruin, whose “tongue is like a sharpened razor.” Don’t let the word, “tyrant” make you think only of a political leader. Surely we all have known someone whose “deceitful tongue” cut us like a razor. In other words, as we pray the Psalms, let these songs speak to the joy, and the pain, of your heart.

It might actually seem frightening to think of ourselves as a tree. A tree can’t move. If someone wants to cut us down, we can’t stop them. Those who “plot ruin” are always more flexible than we are because they don’t let things like morality control their actions. But for those who “trust in the mercy of God,” wherever we are, we are in the “house of God.” For there is no place where the love of God is not with us, bringing protection and healing.

Remember the classic “ice breaker” question, “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” Some trees are thin, but can bend with the wind. Others are big and immovable against the wind. The psalmist knew what kind of tree he was. So just what kind of tree are you?