Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Easter, Year C – Psalm 23 – April 25, 2010
St. Faith’s Episcopal Church, Cutler Bay, Florida
Preacher: The Rev. Jennie Lou D. Reid+

Good shepherd, may I sing thy praise within thy house for ever. Amen.

The 23rd Psalm has graced human hearts from one generation to another ever since Israel’s King David first penned the words about 3,000 years ago to describe his precious relationship with God. The boy David, as the youngest child in his family, was once the shepherd of his family flock. David understands the focus and care a shepherd needs to keep up with the sheep. He likely recalls encounters with danger, like rushing water that can drown a woolly-coated animal, or silent predators in a ravine ready to pounce before sheep or shepherd eyes can adjust to the sudden darkness. He remembers his response to the needs of his sheep for food and water, for rest and recreation, for gentle but intentional guidance along safe and secure pathways and inevitably for rescue as well. When David wants to describe the way God has guided him and saved him and cared about him throughout his life, he easily turns to the image of a shepherd. God cares for us with strength and faithfulness and loving compassion, like a Good Shepherd.

The church designates the Fourth Sunday of Easter as Good Shepherd Sunday, which is a clear indication that the Christian Tradition considers the description of Jesus as our Shepherd a significant and enduring image. I have been ruminating all week on the effectiveness of the image of the Lord as shepherd. I wonder how this snapshot from farm life still manages to connect with urban people around the world. Here and there through the week I have been inviting people to respond to my “shepherd survey.” One morning I visited an older parishioner in the hospital. When I offered to read a psalm, she selected Psalm 23. I asked why she liked it, and she responded, “That question is just too hard. I just like it!” Later I asked for feedback on Psalm 23 from a young adult, who replied, “Which one is Psalm 23?” After quoting the opening verse, this youth declared, “I remember saying that Psalm at funerals. It makes me sad.” Eventually I asked my husband, but he avoided formulating a reply by declaring simply that this kind of reflection was “my department.”

I remember my first encounter with a flock of sheep. I was on a farm in England, standing just inside the sheepfold and surveying the endearing animals, when the farmer picked up a bag of feed and with mischief aforethought, shook the bag. As the sheep instantly rushed towards me, the farmer burst out laughing. I stood still in utter surprise, impressed by the quickness and power of the flock. I realized it would take a mighty and savvy leader to manage such a collection of creatures. My “up close and personal” experience with sheep convinces me that they are not exactly cuddly!

For me the image of God as a Good Shepherd is comforting. The sheep in a flock may all look alike to outsiders, but the shepherd knows each individual sheep. Because God recognizes me by name, we can have a relationship with each other that grows deeper encounter by encounter. A sign that God cares about me is that God chooses to remember my name. When I lie down to sleep, the divine Shepherd stays alert to keep me safe. When I wander off on my own, my Shepherd comes to find me. When I am sad, God embraces me in a firm and tender hug. When I am weak and weary, the Shepherd lets my body drape over the divine shoulders. When I am feeling stronger, God lets me absorb the view from the perch of those same shoulders. The Good Shepherd leads me to a patch of grass, a trough of feed, and a source of clean drinking water, before I even feel the pangs of hunger or thirst. My life is happy and full in this blessed environment of love and safety.

I know this little description may seem like life in a bubble, and not much like real life in this world today. Our needs go beyond blades of grass and bubbling springs. Adults need meaningful work and sustaining income. We need shelter and shoes. Our very existence needs to matter to others in some way. Besides, our world is far from safe. A shepherd’s crook looks like inadequate protection from the dangers that surround us: from internet scams, self-absorbed coworkers, and crazed international terrorists. In spite of an arsenal of Holy Wisdom to lead us, we head for the cliffs of self-destruction through over-indulgence, unreasonable expectations, and fretful restlessness. As a national and world community, people seem to be settling into ideological camps that promote hostile divisions rather than seeking common ground – a state of affairs that keeps the earth’s inhabitants in turmoil. Moreover, disaster can strike in an instant – an earthquake leaves buildings in piles of rubble, a patch of wet pavement hurls a car under a truck, a persistent little cough turns out to be a life-threatening illness. And there we are in the valley of the shadow of death – with demons closing in on us.

I believe that the 23rd Psalm and many other scriptural references to the Lord as our Good Shepherd can sustain us when life is most challenging. When the evils we most fear are nipping at our heels, God’s goodness and mercy – or in other translations, God’s kindness and faithful love and beauty – are also in hot pursuit. In the valley of the shadow of death, the Good Shepherd whispers our name to remind us that God, who loves us more than life itself, is by our side. We can face any difficulty, any disappointment, and any darkness in Jesus’ company. Our very existence does matter – infinitely. God Almighty, who created us and loves us, provides for us. God gives us a wonderful world to live in and urges us to love each other in heart and in action in order to experience the best life has to offer. Jesus teaches us to trust God with the openness of children – that is, without skepticism and second guessing – because that kind of trust is fearless. Finally God gives us eternal hope. Because Jesus broke the bonds of death, we understand that we too are destined for eternal life in the blessed company of the beloved.

When my mother was 74 years old, she learned that the back pain she had been experiencing was a cancerous tumor that could not be removed. During the next year, she stitched a sampler with the King James text of the 23rd Psalm. I believe this project brought her comfort and gave her meaningful work in her convalescence. She created a work of beauty that continues to give glory to the Good Shepherd who was her life-long companion and friend. That sampler now hangs on my family room wall, a clear testimony to this woman of faith who nurtured others in the faith she held so dear and a testimony to the enduring power of the Psalm’s images as well. I imagine Mother enjoys glimpsing her handiwork every now and then from her perch in heaven! I wonder what she thinks about The Message translation:

v1-3
GOD, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
v4
Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I'm not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook
makes me feel secure.
v5
You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.
v6
Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I'm back home in the house of GOD
for the rest of my life.

Yesterday I went to the hospital to pray for a precious parishioner who died in the early morning hours. When I had visited the woman a week or so earlier, she told me that she was not afraid of dying. But no one expected her death to come so soon. In fact, the family had spent the several previous days exploring ways to provide good care for her when she left the hospital. In describing her mother’s death, the daughter declared, “The Shepherd came to lead her home.” I smiled. Even before I had given a thought to my “shepherd survey,” the Lord provided another smidgen of the data I was seeking. In that moment our gracious God offered a humble and heartfelt affirmation that David’s song to our Good Shepherd retains its strength to comfort and bless even 21st –century people, even in a modern metropolis.
Thanks be to God! Amen.