“My Shepherd”

Meditation on Psalm 23

April 21, 2013

This is a link to hear Pastor Karen preach her sermon from this morning
https://www.box.com/s/4b8ji1l43lvcm0uvy60v

And here is the full text of her sermon.

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The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. (Psalm 23)

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     The language and imagery of shepherd and sheep for the Lord and His people is a familiar one for Christians and Jews. It has been used since ancient times, when it was a real life example, something easily understood because many people raised herds of sheep and goats.  

     Though there are too many to list, some Old Testament people who raised sheep include Abraham and his son, Isaac; Isaac’s son, Jacob, and his children, including Joseph, of Broadway’s Technicolor Dreamcoat fame.  You may also recall that Moses, when he saw the burning bush and heard God’s voice, was tending his father-in-law’s flocks.  David, before he felled the Philistine giant Goliath with a single stone and his slingshot, was just a young shepherd boy, still carrying his shepherd’s staff. 

      I don’t recall if my first experience with shepherd and sheep imagery in the Bible was with the gospel accounts of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, or Psalm 23. I do remember, when I was a little girl, having a plaque on my bedroom wall with the words of Psalm 23 and an illustration of a shepherd with his sheep.  

     I remember that the words, “the Lord is My Shepherd” were capitalized and in larger print than the rest of the Psalm.  This helped to inspire me when I was about 7 to write my very own poem that began “The Lord is My Shepherd.” I don’t remember the rest of the poem, but my family was impressed with my rewrite of the verse to tell how the Lord cared for me personally—and was always with me, protecting me from harm.  I understood the main point of the Psalm—that the Lord is MY SHEPHERD. He belongs to me, and I belong to Him.

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     Unfortunately, Psalm 23, a Psalm that emphasizes foundational beliefs that even a small child can understand, is often associated with death. Why? Because it is so often read at funerals.

     Today, perhaps I am starting a new tradition—the reading of Psalm 23 at a baptism, because Psalm 23 isn’t about death at all. It’s about life!  And not just life in general—life WITH God.

      This isn’t a far off God who created us and then stands back to watch and wait for us to die and go to heaven to be with Him. Psalm 23 assures us that GOD IS WITH US now and forever—with the Church as a whole AND with each one of us personally. And our Lord wants us to live abundantly, without fear, in the confidence of His love, trusting in his goodness, mercy, guidance, and protection. We are encouraged, along with the psalmist, as I was as a child, to call the Lord, “MY SHEPHERD.”

     When I read the Psalm as a little girl, the shepherd was Jesus, without question. Back then, I didn’t know that the Psalms were written and sung hundreds of years before Jesus was born; therefore the writer of Psalm 23 did not know Jesus and was not describing him. Rather, Jesus uses the shepherd language and imagery of Psalm 23 and real life examples to describe his loving relationship to us—His flock—and to God the Father.

    On the other hand, now that I am grown up, I believe the Psalm DOES prophetically describe our Lord, Jesus Christ, just as He is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah of God. It is only natural that Christians would read the Psalm and connect it with Jesus saying,  “I am the Good Shepherd…and my sheep hear my voice.” I believe that it is because of Jesus our Shepherd that we “shall not want”—that we lack nothing! We have all we need for salvation, abundant life and peace with God now and forever in Christ, our Redeemer and Lord.

       What follows “I shall not want,” explains what is needed for salvation, abundant life and peace with God—and how the Lord graciously meets all those needs. At the top of the list is the need for our obedience and submission to His Will.  But we cannot be obedient and submissive without God’s help!  The Psalmist assures us that the Shepherd will indeed help us to obey, saying, “He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.”  He takes us where He wants us to be—a good place for the sheep whom He loves, a place with green, lush pastures and water, symbolizing the Spirit’s nourishment and cleansing.

      Our shepherd also restores our souls—healing what is broken in us and what has been damaged or destroyed in our lives because of sin. He leads us on the right path—showing us and giving us the power each day to live out His loving, righteous ways.

         But the Psalmist, like us, lives in the real world.  He recognizes the presence and danger of evil all around him. Yet he says, “I fear no evil; for YOU ARE WITH ME.” 

       Notice how the language changes from talking about the Lord to talking to Him.  The Psalmist is drawing nearer to God, and beckoning us to come nearer, too. 

        The next line--“Your rod and your staff—they comfort me” used to puzzle me.  I had heard that the rod and staff were used to discipline the sheep and keep them from going astray. This may be true, but I learned this week that the shepherd’s rod and staff had other uses, too.  The rod was the short, wooden club the shepherd used for protection against animal or human enemies.  The staff was longer and could help the sheep struggling up a difficult path or through darkness and wilderness.

        The last part I find particularly encouraging, especially for a Psalm. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me my whole life long.” Most Psalms speak of enemies pursuing the psalmist. Not so for Psalm 23, where goodness and mercy chases after the psalmist! The Hebrew word translated as “follow” in our Bibles is a more active verb closer to “pursue.”

     Finally, the Psalmist confidently declares the best news of all, “And I shall live in God’s house forever.”

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       Today, we are blessed to baptize baby Jordyn Zieske, welcoming her into the fold. 

       We pray as a community of faith that this little lamb will grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  We pray this little lamb will grow to be a mature sheep of His flock and confirm the vows her parents have made for her this morning—that He belongs to her and she to Him.

       

Will you join me in the prayer that I hope Jordyn will one day pray?

 “The Lord is My Shepherd; I have all that I need in Christ, my Redeemer. He is MY SHEPHERD, who takes me to places that are good for me and helps me to do His Will.  He heals and restores all that is broken in me and my life because of sin. He leads me to live out His loving, righteous ways…And even though evil is all around me, I am not afraid. For YOU ARE WITH ME.  I trust that You will protect me and keep me from harm… Surely goodness and mercy will pursue me all my life.  And I will live in God’s house forever.”  Amen.