Psalm 1:1-4, 6

This week’s responsorial psalm comes from Psalm 1, which serves as a preface to the entire Book of Psalms. With vivid imagery, it contrasts the destiny of the righteous and the wicked, portraying life as a path where every choice leads to inevitable consequences.

The psalm describes the righteous as a flourishing tree, deeply rooted and nourished by God’s law, while the wicked are like chaff, weightless and scattered by the wind. This theme of rootedness and fruitfulness versus instability and destruction closely parallels our first reading, making this psalm a fitting responsorial.

Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, 

Psalm 1 is a macarism, a literary form that pronounces a person blessed due to their relationship with God or their virtuous way of life. Macarisms, or beatitudes, are common in biblical wisdom literature, as seen in our gospel reading for today (Luke 6:20-26).

What identifies a just or righteous person is their behavior, which is very different from the behavior of those who have no regard for the Law of God.

Notice the three stages of engagement with sin. The psalm describes a progression from casual association (following), to greater involvement (walking in the way), to complete identification (sitting with).

The righteous person resists this downward spiral, choosing instead to follow God’s ways.

but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night.

The righteous do not just obey God’s law; they delight in it. In their devotion, they constantly reflect on God’s word.

He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.

It’s very likely that Jeremiah was influenced by this psalm, as our first reading uses the same vivid image of a tree planted by water to describe the blessed person who trusts in God. The similarities suggest either a direct literary dependence or that both drew from a common wisdom tradition in Israel.

Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

Chaff is the worthless husk of grain, easily carried away by the wind. This image conveys instability, lack of substance, and ultimate destruction, symbolizing the sinful life of the wicked.

For the LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.

God actively protects, guides, and blesses those who follow Him. Their path is secure. In contrast, those who reject God face ruin, both in this life and ultimately in eternity.

In ancient Israelite thought, one’s legacy and memory were crucial. To be forgotten was seen as a kind of death beyond death — a loss of identity and significance. As seen in this verse, while the righteous are remembered by God and the community, the wicked are erased from history (“the way of the wicked vanishes”).

This theme runs throughout Jewish wisdom literature:

• Proverbs 10:7 – The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
• Psalm 34:16 – The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
• Psalm 9:5-6 – You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked; their name you have blotted out forever and ever.

Ultimately, it is the Lord who judges all, securing the fate of both the righteous and the wicked.