EAST CRAFTSBURY – Psalm 23 is one of the most famous psalms in the Bible, but how often do we get to savor in it, lying down in the green pastures of its poetry? Let us walk through these lines to see what may be in the grass.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Through God we have everything provided for us, even when it seems like we have nothing going for us, or when it seems like we’re about to have it all taken away. A politician isn’t my shepherd, a boss isn’t my shepherd, my dad ain’t my shepherd and, I am sorry to say this so close to Mother’s Day, but my mom’s not my shepherd either.
While I am called “pastor,” a title that comes from the word “shepherd,” the better way to think of my role is “under-shepherd,” serving at the privilege of the chief shepherd, helping others have a relationship with him. So maybe I should be called “under-pastor.” Honestly, I’d prefer local sheepdog.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters.” You might think, well, why does he need to make me lie down in green pastures? But then, how often do I really permit myself to fully let go and rest? The Sabbath is one of the most beautiful examples of how obedience to God is primarily a gift to enjoy life by entering into his rest. Apparently, some of us have got to be told to actually enjoy creation.
As for, “He leads me beside still waters,” we are sheep who, left to our own devices, don’t know how to get to God’s peace. I have to stop bleating long enough to listen for my shepherd’s voice so he can call me to water.
“He restores my soul.” Hebrew scholar Robert Alter explains, the original word refresh does not mean “soul,” but “life-breath” or “life,” emphasizing the lushness of life in God here and now. Alter says, “The image is of someone who has almost stopped breathing and is revived, brought back to life.”
“He leads me in right paths for His name’s sake.” Or perhaps more accurately, per Alter, “He leads me on pathways of justice for His name’s sake.” Now, you don’t usually think of sheep particularly caring about justice. Here we begin to see how this passage is blending our humanity with the sheep image. We also see how Scripture visualizes the difference between doing right and wrong as an uneven path that goes all over the place and the path that goes forward in simplicity. It is not always easy to do the right thing, but it is often simple. Perhaps even when doing justice is simple, we need our shepherd because it is still hard.
Readers of the psalm might almost breeze past “for His name’s sake.” In the Bible, there’s more to a name than a name. To pray “in the name of” God is not only what we call him by (and many of our Jewish friends still do not call him by his name out of reverence). God’s name is tied to his nature and essence. So “for His name’s sake” is like, “because of his essential nature.” The psalm is saying that God loves us not because of what we do, but because of who he is. I can’t do anything that makes him say, “Ah well, I lost a sheep, too bad.” His very being expresses the free choice to love us even when we have freely chosen not to love him. God, in his nature, in his name, is “He Who Loves Us,” whether we love him or not. So he leads us “for his name’s sake,” because loving us is just who he is.
“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,” seems self-explanatory in parts, right? Like, no matter what I’m going through, no matter how dark it gets, no matter how bad it is. Got it. But that thing about rod and staff . . . are they the same thing? No, it’s the psalmist expressing two different sides of the Shepherd’s love. The staff, with its crook, can get sheep out of tight spots and guide us back, while the rod protects us from evil and wards off the wolves. It sometimes takes both the protection and the prodding to get us through the darkest valleys. That’s how we know where to go, “Nope, not that way, my sheep, this way . . . Nope, not that way, my sheep, this way.”
Next consider, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Or as Alter says, “You moisten my head with oil,” like God is giving us a luxurious massage. The psalm invites us to say, “Oh, God, thank you for just loving on me. I don’t care whether I’ve got enemies when I’ve got your love.” I know probably a lot of people don’t really think of themselves as having enemies, but we all have at least some spiritual enemies threatening our well-being. It helps to remember when it gets dark that God is always providing for you and giving you every good gift, not only when life is peaceful. Even in contention and chaos, there is always grace spilling out all over the place.
And finally we read, “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.” And so the psalmist prays and I pray: Lord, my shepherd, let your loving goodness pursue me. I know it does, for I know you do. That’s in your Name. And I know no matter what, my whole life long, I can dwell in your house because you have made your house within me; somehow, even though a sinner I am, if I can remember to invite you in. I know you’ve got me.
And I know he’s got you. Because the Lord is our shepherd; that is just who he is. And he loves you because that is just who he is.
The Rev. Joe Welker serves the East Craftsbury Presbyterian Church.
