Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 3, 2009
Psalm: Psalm 23
Sermon: "Psalm 23"
The Rev. Dr. Vicki L. Smith, Rector
Psalm: The LORD is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You spread a table before me in the presence of those
who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.Psalm 23
Psalm 23 May 3, 2009
In our highly wired society, there is a company called Thumbplay that offers ringtones by Christian bands and Bible-verse wallpaper for your iphone. The most popular wallpaper: The Lord is my shepherd: from psalm 23. (Newsweek, May 4, 2009) Even in our non-agricultural, very secular world many people still know that bit of Scripture by heart. Psalm 23, our psalm this morning, is probably the most read and most memorized piece of the Bible. We teach it to children, and read it at funerals. We read and say it for its comfort and its beauty. It brings to mind, even for those of us who have never lived on a farm, a picture of flocks of sheep in a rich green fields, quietly gathered around their loving, and comely, shepherd. It’s a wonderful image.
But the 23rd psalm is much more than a pretty picture for a child’s bedroom wall. The 23rd psalm is a down and dirty guide to life, a manual for how to live out our faith with assurance in the craziness of our world. It offers much, much more than simply a pretty picture.
The psalm begins with the assertion that the Lord is our shepherd—a reminder that we need a shepherd and by the grace of God, we have one. We do not go through this life alone; we are unable to and we are not asked to—we have a shepherd; a shepherd who is always with us. That, in fact is the central message of this psalm—that wherever we go, our shepherd goes with us, whether that be green pastures or the valley of the shadow of death, wherever we find ourselves, our shepherd is there with us. Whether we stay near by or go far away; whether we are at school, or work, in the hospital or at home, in a birthing room or a funeral home, wherever we are, the Lord our shepherd is already there with us.
In our gospel lesson today, Jesus reminds us that he is our shepherd, the good shepherd, the shepherd who stays with the sheep no matter what. A hireling, as Jesus says, will run off when times get tough; a hireling will leave when they get frightened or bored. But not the good shepherd, not our shepherd: our shepherd will never leave us.
The rest of psalm 23 tells us what that means, beginning with: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Our whole lives seem to be about wanting. We want love and prosperity; we want good health and a long life; and we want really cool stuff. This verse helps us learn that our lives are not to be about what we want, but about already having God. A wise man once said that there are two ways to be rich: have lots or want little. Our relationship with God and the love and guidance of our shepherd provide what we really need and help us to be satisfied with all the rest.
Our shepherd will lead us to what we truly need: green pastures and still waters—to refreshment and restoration; to quiet and peace, to a sense of contentment, to enough.
It’s worth remembering that you drive cattle; you lead sheep. We are sheep, the sheep of God’s pasture and our shepherd goes before us, leading us where we need to go. He leads us TO green pastures and still waters and he leads us THROUGH the presence of our enemies and the valley of the shadow of death. Our whole lives long we follow our shepherd, through good and pain, joy and sorrow—our shepherd leads the way, always before us, always present.
Most of us know a 400 year old translation of this psalm, full of beautiful but rather ancient words. There’s an interesting alternative translation of one verse: the King James’ version, and those like it, read: though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. It can be also be read: though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil. The darkest valley. ---- We can walk through some pretty dark valleys in our lives--- you’ve perhaps been through some, or are even in one now. Even in the darkest valley, we need not fear, for our shepherd is with us. When the pastures are not green and the waters are not still; when our paths are not right and the valley is dark, even then we need not fear, for our shepherd is with us.
And as our shepherd is with us, he creates a safe place for us, even in the midst of our enemies, even in the darkest of valleys. If you’ve ever been in the deep woods, you know the sense of menace that can be there; the sense of being lost in the dark, unable to see the sun. Even there, when we are surrounded by darkness and cannot see the light, even there, we need not fear, for our shepherd is with us.
One of the commentators on this psalm said that “tribulation produces amnesia.” When things get tough, we forget; we forget God’s love for us; we forget God’s abiding presence with us; we forget that he goes before us and stands beside us. We try to go it alone, struggling by ourselves to cope with our difficulties. Psalm 23 helps us remember that we are never alone, in the green pastures and in the dark valleys, our shepherd is with us.
For I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. My whole life long, forever and always. There is not a moment in lives when our shepherd is not with us. We may forget, we may not feel his presence, but that doesn’t change the reality. Our shepherd is with us always, every moment of every day.
In this beautiful, timeless psalm, God offers us much, much more, than just a pretty picture—he offers us a relationship with him all the days of our lives. The Lord is indeed our shepherd.