May 3 - Easter 4

The Lord Is My Shepherd 

Psalm 23

Easter 4 – May 3, 2009

The 23rd Psalm is one of the best-known, best-loved pieces of Scripture that we have. Many of you may know it by heart – maybe in the old poetic style of the King James Version. It's one of those parts of the Bible that we turn to for comfort during times of grief or anxiety. It's so beloved because it speaks, as so many of the psalms do, of our experiences and of our own feelings.  

Or maybe a better way to put that would be to say that it says the things we would like to say, the things we would like to believe are true abou us.  We can relate to the what the psalmist is going through. Just like the person who wrote this psalm, we have been through all sorts of difficult situations. Many of us here this morning find ourselves in the middle of those anxious times. We have wandered around in search of green pastures, wondering when we will find that place where there is “enough”, where we will be content at last and able to lie down in that safe and peaceful place, instead of lying awake at night worrying. We have lived with the kind of anxiety that gnaws away at us, while we wait for our souls to be restored. We have walked down unclear paths, longing for guidance and the certainty that we are doing the right thing, that this is the right way. We have entered into those deep, dark valleys where sunlight is scarce and the shadows of death and fear linger and loom large over us. We have felt under attack, surrounded by enemies that would attack and destroy us and all we have worked so hard for.  

Yes, we know the types of things the Psalmist has been going through. When the Psalmist speaks of all these kinds of trouble, he speaks for us. And yet he speaks of a trust in God that many of us can find hard to have. The 23rd Psalm gives us great comfort, but it is hard to live out the utter confidence it declares. The psalm says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want,” - and as much as we want that to be true, there's a part of us that says, “But I do want!”

It says, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;” - but our secret hearts are often very afraid. We say that God's rod & staff comfort us, but sometimes we don't feel comforted. We can see the enemies –of our addictions or disease or debt – but the meal and overflowing cup are not so obvious. And goodness and mercy? They may be following us, but they haven't caught up to us yet!

It is hard, when we are in the middle of scary circumstances, when we are unsure about the future, to put our trust in the Lord, even though we know he is our shepherd. It is a tough call to follow faithfully through the dark valleys and to trust that we are being led to green pastures and still waters. When we are wondering how the bills will get paid this month, it is hard to believe that because the Lord is our shepherd, therefore we shall not be in want.  

And perhaps that is why we do take such comfort in this psalm. Because we can tell that the psalmist has been through the same things we have been through. He has known uncertainty and fear. He has been worried and anxious. He has faced the dark valleys of death and squared off against the enemies who surrounded him and sought to do him harm. And yet, he can say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want...You are with me, so I shall fear no evil.” He has lived through all of these scenarios, and what he discovered, the truth that resonates so deeply within each of us, is that no matter how scared he has been, no matter how dark the path seemed, no matter how alone he may have felt, when he remembered to look for the Lord, the Lord was always there. Looking back over all he has been through, he realizes that the Lord has never abandoned him. What he has learned is that when he was in need, the Lord provided. When he was distressed, the Lord led him to a place of peace where he could lie down and rest, where his soul could be renewed and restored. When the path wasn't clear, the Lord guided him. Even in that scariest of places, the valley of the shadow of death, God was with him, protecting him with the rod, and directing him with the staff. When everything seemed to be going against him, he found that the Lord was there – and because of that, he has learned that he doesn't need to fear.  

This is the promise the psalm offers to us today too, the promise of a shepherd who will always be with us.  And we know who this shepherd is - It's Jesus, who says in the gospel of John, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me.” Jesus, our Lord and shepherd, knows each of us by name. He knows what we are going through, and he knows that we need him to guide us and guard us, to feed us and comfort us. He never promised us a life free from dark valleys, but he did promise that he will be with us always. Jesus is the good shepherd, who is willing to lay down his life for the sheep. Jesus proved his love for us on the cross, and he invites us today to let him be our shepherd, to follow him, to trust him with every part of our lives, to believe that he cares for us and will never leave us alone, so we may dare to say with the Psalmist:   
 
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want."

Thanks be to God! Amen.