Scriptures: Acts 4:5-12 Psalm 23 1stJohn 3:16-24 John 10:11-14
The quote from Frederick Douglass that is at the top of this morning’s bulletin reminds us that prayer affirms God as the source of our life and purpose. We are reminded that authentic prayer comes alive as we act on our words so that our lives line up with God’s goodness and intention. In 1838 at the age of twenty Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery. He went on to become one of the most famous abolitionists in U.S. history. A firm believer in equality of all people, he was fond of saying, “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.” This quote helps me picture God as active walking along side us. We are created by God for an intimate relationship that gives our lives their central purpose and power. To pray the 23rd Psalm is to declare that God is your soul-source of protection andprovision. God’s mercy and goodness are always pursuing us. God did not create humanity to dominate the world, but to share it, even as God is the very foundation of our existence. As the first commandment states, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other Gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol…you shall not bow down to worship them.” Exodus 20:2-5a.
Walter Brueggemann, renown Biblical scholar, makes this point in a long comment on what it means to say, “The Lord is my Shepherd”. You will need to listen carefully because he ties this Psalm directly back to the first and most important commandment, “I am the Lord, Your God and you shall have no other…” He writes, “One Compelling Loyalty—The term “shepherd” is political in the Bible. It means King, Sovereign, Lord, authority, the one who directs, to whom I am answerable, whom I trust and serve. In this simple opening line, “The Lord is my Shepherd”, Psalm 23 is clear about the goal and focus, the center and purpose of life: YAWEH and no other. There is no rival loyalty, no competing claim—not economic or political, not liberal or conservative, not sexist or racist, nor any other petty loyalties that seduce us. It is a mark of discernment and maturity to strip life down to one compelling loyalty, to be freed of all others that turn out to be idolatrous.”
Brueggemann provides the cosmic, universal application of this Psalm, but it is a Psalm that is also very personal and makes God accessible to us. My favorite translation of the 23rd Psalm is the Jerusalem Bible translation that while keeping the powerful poetic form also lifts up the sense of personal protection the Psalmist experienced and opens for us. “With Yahweh as my Shepherd there is nothing I lack.” If you start with the Lord (God), recognize that no matter what is going on or what is happening, you (and I) have the Lord right there with us every step of the way no matter if you struggle with worthlessness or depression. When I retired from Fort Des Moines Presbyterian Church after 24 years, as their part-time pastor my children gave me a bench that has this verse on it and reminds me that while God is Sovereign, God is personal.
We celebrated Earth Day on April 22, just three days ago so I want to encourage you, with me, to read the “my” of the 23rd Psalm with the Planet Earth as the speaker. So close your eyes if you need to, let me read this Psalm and imagine that our Planet Earth is praying:
The Lord is my Shepherd, I have needs galore. The Lord makes me fully aware of my pastures, lush, green and soft. The Lord provides for me the calming, cleansing and refreshing waters that restore my life and renew me. The Lord, for the Lord’s namesake directs the decisions made about me and the care of me, even calling humanity to be partners in that endeavor. Even as I travel through dark times of evil—misuse, exploitation and destruction, I do not fear for my Lord, my shepherd is with me and uses the power of the Lord to protect and comfort me. Why the Lord even brings me to a table in the presence of enemies—those who use me for their own profit and greed. The Lord makes clear that my abundance is for all, that is the Lord’s desire and so goodness and compassion pursue me as I dwell as the Lord’s house forever, as long as the Lord needs me.
This paraphrase or reworking of the psalm underlines that the world is a gift for all of us. To put it plainly we are all in the same boat and if we don’t take care of the boat, then we are not letting God, Yahweh, have the proper and central sovereign role of being our guide and protector. We too often make an idol of ourselves. As a result, we may not survive—not because of God’s failure, but of our own as God’s partners.
Secondly, the Psalm is not just about power but balance and moderation. When we get out of balance personally or as a society thinking it is all about us, the Psalmist reminds us that it starts and ends with God. If we can acknowledge that the one pasture or world is a gift of God, that wisdom may save us. However, if we continue to live as if we who are 5 or 6% of the world’s population think only of ourselves and continue to use 89% of the earth’s resources in our need to be first, our greed to have the most and to satisfy our sense of control and entitlement–others will continue to suffer, and we will ultimately kill ourselves and God will not stop it. God though our shepherd and sovereign is not a distant God but one who pursues us with goodness and mercy. This is the God who saw King David fail yet still empowered and supported him. The authorship of the 23rd Psalm is traditionally attributed to David, the King of Israel.
Finally, on a more positive note, this is a Psalm that pictures God as Shepherd and source of all goodness is a God who desires to restore us and the earth. To restore is to bring back to its original purpose…to be in relationship with God who is our center. “I will dwell In the House of the Lord forever.” Our Lord God has given us a home. In that house (relationship) we lack for nothing. It is a place of abundance and beauty in contrast to the parched places of our lives. GOD, THE PSALMIST, INSISTS IS OUR HOME AND THE MORE WE KNOW THAT IN OUR HEART OF HEARTS THE MORE WE WILL BE ABLE TO SHIFT FROM ANXIETY TO ASSURANCE, FROM FEAR TO FULLNESS, FROM GETTING TO GRATITUDE AND OUR LIVES WILL BECOME A THANK YOU TO THE EARTH AND THE LORD OUR GOD, CREATOR WHO CONTINUES TO CREATE AND IS DEPENDING ON US.
donrelly 