What Gives You Peace?
Scriptures: Psalm 23, John 10:22-30
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Were you surprised to hear that read as one of the lectionary texts for today? We don’t very often use this oh-so-familiar text as part of our scripture readings for the day. Many of us have committed it to memory (although a little while back in a Spiritual and Parish Life Board meeting Betty Clark sought to lead us in saying it, and more than a few of us fumbled with the words as we got into it). It is, of course, used most often at funerals, since these are among the most comforting words in scripture. Quite probably it is that piece of scripture the majority of Christians would identify as their favorite.
Why is this so? Well, for one thing it has been the case for some time now that modern culture has forced us to be a busy, productive, and even hurried people. Aren’t we always trying to push ourselves? We’re active and on the go. We’re plugged into our iPods and MP3 players so the music is always playing, serving to drive us. (OK, so this may not be as true for many of you, but still most of us tend to be addicted to technology of one sort or another. Do you find it strange, like I do, walking down the street and seeing someone who seems to be talking to themselves – when they’re really on their bluetooth? Maybe that bluetooth coming out of our ears is today’s paradigm for the cacophony of modern culture.) Even on solitary walks in the woods we listen to the sounds of others playing in our ears.
The rabbit in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland sang, “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date.” Haste shapes the lives of many, even those of us who are retired. How many of you have said, “I’m busier now in retirement than I ever was before. When did I ever find time to work?”
If we are busy, active people, quickly going from here to there, and if we are people who don’t really like silence, then how do we explain the popularity of words out of the Bible that paint a picture of tranquility and peace? “God makes me lie down in greet pastures; God leads me beside still waters.” Ahhhh. Don’t you just feel your limbs relaxing and your inner tensions alleviating as those comforting words roll over you? Can’t you picture yourself in your mind’s eye being in that pastoral scene?
Well, perhaps not. Or, at least, only for a fleeting moment. That’s really the problem with this Psalm, isn’t it – its images don’t connect with our contemporary reality. Who among us has actually met a shepherd? If you’ve ever taken kids to a petting zoo, you know that sheep are really pretty smelly creatures. Which of us wants to sit at a table surrounded by our enemies? Anointing with oil – unless it’s just a few drops – can get to be a pretty messy proposition. If your cup is overflowing, aren’t you likely to get your feet wet? You know, when you sit down and analyze this 23rd Psalm rather closely, are these truly images that can give us comfort? Well, OK, so “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long,” is a great final line, and perhaps it’s by ending with this thought that we catch the reality to which the Psalmist is trying to lead us.
And this reality includes suffering and hostility. It’s important to note the position of the 23rd Psalm, coming as it does right after the 22nd which begins “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – a familiar enough line that Jesus speaks from the cross. In verse 11 there is this plea to God: “Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.” Sounds like the Psalmist is about as deep in despair as it’s possible to be. No wonder he or she feels the need to lie down in green pastures and walk beside still waters.
We all feel that way from time-to-time don’t we? That reverberating cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is one that we have hurled to a sometimes seemingly empty universe. It’s part of the reason – maybe the largest part – of why we come to a church, why we become part of this community, why we find in this building and this worship a meaning that takes us far beyond that sense of being forsaken. For God tells us: “(you) shall dwell in the house of the Lord (your) whole life long.”
But before we get to that last line there are other parts of this Psalm to consider. What about “your rod and your staff – they comfort me.” Again, when you stop and think about this line in isolation, what is so comforting here? Those who grew up in a “spare the rod and spoil the child” atmosphere (though there probably aren’t many left from that generation now) know the cruelty and pain of the administration of a rod. Why would the Psalmist use this imagery here?
Dr. W Philip Keller in his book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 points out that sheep cannot just take care of themselves. They need a shepherd who knows every inch of the land, every pitfall, and every hideout where predatory creatures hide as they wait for the unsuspecting sheep. Thus, the shepherd does not use the rod to beat the sheep, but rather, as an extension of the shepherd’s own arm, the rod carefully leads each sheep to a safe and protected place. Here’s a contemporary example of this same kind of care and planning: last Saturday as we were driving back from the Eastern Association meeting I became aware – as probably many of you do when traveling to and from California – of those places on steep grades where there are signs alerting drivers to the runaway truck ramp. It’s a dirt track leading off the highway, and it’s graded steeply upward so a runaway rig with no brakes can go barreling onto it and be slowed by the incline to a gradual stop. That’s smart highway planning. Our lives can feel like they are running away sometimes, and we need a rod or a runaway ramp to slow us down and keep us safe. As Paul Lundborg says, “The Good Shepherd eagerly waits for the opportunity to take our hand and guide us safely out of the fast lane. We are fortunate to be taken onto the safety ramp so our out-of-control life can be stopped. There, beside the still waters, Christ speaks words of life to our soul.”
Also, the rod was used in the counting of the sheep. In Hebrew terminology this was referred to as passing “under the rod” (Ezekiel 20:37). This meant not only being counted, but being carefully inspected by the sheepherder. Because of their long wool it was not always easy to detect disease, wounds, or defects in sheep. The skilled judge would take their rod and part the sheep’s wool to determine the condition of the skin, the cleanliness of the fleece, and the conformation of the body. As Dr Keller says, “In plain language, ‘One just does not pull the wool over (their) eyes.’”
The 23rd Psalm is telling us that God knows who we are – intimately, down to every tick and flea – and cares for us as a shepherd does for the flock. Jesus reflects this same reality and makes this same affirmation in Matthew when he says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your (Creator/Redeemer). And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid, you are of more value than many sparrows.” (10:29-30)
Along about here, though, I can see some red flags starting to go up. We really don’t like the idea of being thought of as sheep, do we? I’ve already mentioned how smelly they are, but the main drawback is how docile they are, how meekly they follow someone who leads. Part of our modern sensibility is our streak of independence – it’s practically built into our DNA. We do not like to be told what to do; we get our backs up when we’re told we simply have to obey. Yet, here is not only the Psalmist but Jesus himself describing us as sheep. In the gospel lesson we read today from John one key line is, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.” As was the case with Psalm 23 following upon Psalm 22, this lectionary passage from John follows the familiar story at the beginning of chapter 10 where Jesus describes himself as “the good shepherd”. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (vs. 11) Jesus is using this imagery here specifically so he can identify with the shepherd of the 23rd Psalm – who is God – and thus so that he can make the claim he does at the end of this passage: “The Father and I are one.”
And that’s the point. The emphasis here is not on our “sheepness” (it’s really not all about me); the emphasis is on what it means for God and Jesus to be the shepherd. The Rev. Dr. Vicki L. Smith, Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Reidsville, NC, puts this thought quite beautifully:
“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…..
“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…..
“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. (Psalm 23) 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…..
“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 God 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.”
I especially resonate with Rev. Smith’s line, “Our whole lives seem to be about wanting.” You know about the wisdom of children and how seeing something through a child’s eye can give you a whole new perspective. One time a little boy was reciting this Psalm, and he began, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I got all I want.” Hopefully, the teacher or minister who heard that could use it as a “teachable moment”. In some ways that’s an even more accurate expression of a spiritual life than, “I shall not want”. We already have all that we could want or need when we have the Good Shepherd looking out for us. “I got all I want” – for I have goodness and mercy following me all the days of my life, and I (that is, each one of us) have the promise of Jesus: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”
I titled this sermon “What Gives You Peace?”, hoping that that would be an honest question that you might do some serious thinking about. In this noisy, cacophonous, bustling, pushy, mechanistic, materialistic world – what gives you peace? Is it green pastures and still waters? Is it comfort when walking through the darkest valley? Is it sitting at table – either here within this community as we will next week during Holy Communion or even with enemies all around – whom we are called upon to love? Or is it – finally and supremely – simply the presence of the Good Shepherd – here, among us. It is one thing to visit the still waters, but it’s another thing to live there. Not many of us are going to move to a nearby monastery or convent to live. It is enough, hopefully, that the shepherd reminds us that there are still waters and green pastures, and that when we come together the encouraging power experienced in our community as we seek to see Christ in each other will be a way to offer one another the sign of peace.
It is no small or facile thing to say “the peace of Christ be with you.” That is what the Good Shepherd brings to each and every one of us.
Amen
Dave Pomeroy
First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
Las Vegas, NV
April 25, 2010
What Gives You Peace? (John 10:22-30, Psalm 23:1-6)
John 10:22-30
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” (ESV)
Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. (ESV)
