Show Notes
In this seventh week of Epiphany, we reflect on Psalm 1 and the practice of repentance.
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Episode Transcript
The celebration of Epiphany challenges us to go back to our familiar places, our homes, our workplaces, our communities in a different way. Just as scripture tells us the Magi did when they returned to the East. The season invites us to consider how encountering Jesus should change the way we live, becoming rooted in His love and forgiveness and empowered by the Holy Spirit to share the fruit of those characteristics with others.
The Word of the Lord from Psalm 1:
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Psalm 1 paints a picture of two very different lives. One is compared to a tree planted by streams of water bearing fruit in its season, thriving because its roots are deep and nourished. The other is like chaff blown away by the wind, untethered and unfruitful. When we think about our work, it’s easy to feel like chaff, sometimes scattered, unproductive and unsure of our purpose. But Psalm 1 invites us to live differently, to be rooted in God’s Word in his ways, allowing him to shape not just who we are, but how we work.
Repentance plays a key role in this process. Verse one warns against walking in step with the wicked, standing with sinners or sitting in the company of mockers. In our work, it’s easy to get caught up in unhealthy habits or attitudes, whether it’s cutting corners, letting pride take over or getting stuck in cycles of bitterness. Repentance is about recognizing when we’ve strayed and turning back to God.
It’s not about shame. It’s about restoration. When we repent, we recenter our hearts and our work on the things that matter most. The promise of Psalm one is that when we delight in God’s ways and let his word guide us, we will be like that thriving tree. Our work will have purpose and bear fruit, not just intangible results, but in the way it blesses others and honors God.
Repentance is the ongoing practice that keeps us rooted. It reminds us that we don’t have to rely on our own strength or wisdom. We can trust in God to sustain us and make our work meaningful. So let’s pause often to reflect, repent, and realign our work with His will, knowing that He’s the one who makes it flourish.
A reading from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 6, verses 17 through 26.
He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
A Prayer of Repentance by St. Basil the Great from the 4th Century:
God, our God, who has granted repentance to men for salvation and has given us the profits for the guidance of our lives. It was deigned to accept the tears of repentance. Receive also the supplication of us sinners and incline your ear to our prayer. For we have sinned, Lord, we have sinned and we are not worthy to lift up our eyes and look upon the height of heaven.
We’ve abandoned the path of your righteousness and have walked according to the will of our own hearts. But we implore your incomparable goodness. Spare us, O Lord, according to the multitude of your mercies and save us for your holy namesake, for our days have passed away in vanity.
Rescue us from the hand of the adversary and forgive us our sins and mortify our carnal minds that putting off the old man, we may be clothed with the new and may live for you our master and benefactor. And that thus following your commandments, we may attain to eternal rest. Where is the abode of all those who rejoice?
For you are in verity the true joy and exultation of those who love you. O Christ our God, and to you we ascribe glory together with your Father who is without beginning, and your all holy, good, and life-giving Spirit now and forever and unto the ages. Amen.
God’s word from Jeremiah chapter 17, beginning in verse five:
This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”
