The 4th Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:5-12 Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24 John 10:11-18
As I studied and prepared for this week’s sermon, I was transported back in time to my home church when I participated in a formal gathering of other young people who were preparing for baptism; most of us were 12, 13, or 14 years old. One aspect of our learning was to memorize various portions of Scripture that included John 3:16, John 1:1-5, Genesis 1:1-5, The Beatitudes, The Ten Commandments, and today’s selection from the Psalter, Psalm 23. Little did I realize at the time how crucial these specific passages, along with the continuing unfolding of Scripture over time, would form the touchstone for my life that continues to shape who I am still becoming as a follower of Christ. I remember fondly the Rev. Dr. Wilbur Christians and Eddie and Anita Iwata, deeply committed Christian teachers who were instrumental to my religious upbringing. I give thanks to God for them and the other unsung heroes of the faith, both men and women, ordained and lay, who were part of the planting and nurturing of spiritual seeds, especially during my teen and college years that have, at least in part, resulted in my being with you in this time and place. I doubt that I am alone and suspect I speak for many of you this morning who were taught the ways of faith and Christian living by loving and dedicated shepherds over the course of your lives.
Speaking of Psalm 23, it is obviously one of the most famous within the Psalter. I suspect many of us can recite it by heart. For some, it brings to mind the ubiquitous painting of Jesus with a small lamb wrapped over his shoulders, a very soft and serene image depicting the loving nature of Jesus. It reminds us of the parable of the lost sheep found in both Matthew and Luke’s gospels, where the shepherd leaves the ninety nine sheep in order to find and return the one that has gone missing. Truth be told, this portrayal of the “good shepherd” did hang in the main hallway of the Baptist
church I grew up in. It was also in the fellowship hall of the Baptist church I attended while I was away at college. For what it’s worth, it wasn’t a part of the artwork in either of the two Presbyterian churches I attended when I firstbeganmyprofessionalcareerintheBayArea. Forothersitbringsto mind funerals, offering consolation and hope in the midst of grief and pain. Either way, I think it speaks to each of us personally because it reflects our own needs to be cared for and protected.
To underscore the personal nature of this psalm, first person pronouns of “I”, “me”, and “my'', are throughout all six verses. Notice how the relationship between the author, David, and God transitions between David talking “about'' God's provision, to speaking “to” God about God’s presence and blessings. This transition highlights that David and God are “in relationship.” So whether we encounter this psalm as a source of confidence or consolation, it truly does provide us with the opportunity to engage with God in a very personal and intimate way. For me, this sense of being intimate with God, this sense of being cared for and protected elicits similar emotions to when I hear the hymn Abide with Me being sung or hear bagpipes play Amazing Grace, a palpable sign of God’s very real and abiding presence.
Another critical feature of this psalm, building on the relational aspect just mentioned, is that with the Lord as our shepherd, the one who guides and leads us, the one who goes with us through times of pain and confusion in the dark valleys of our lives, the one who provides times of rest and comfort, this good shepherd assures us that none of us shall be in want, or put another way, none of us shall lack anything we need. Think about that for a minute. Do you lack anything you need? Do I? Let’s reframe the question: “What really matters that I do not have?” “What, when the hour of our death arrives, do we dare not lack?”
I couldn’t help but think of the story of the “rich young ruler” that is found in all three of the synoptic gospels. The young fellow wants to know how to obtain eternal life. Jesus reminds him of the commandments to which the man replies that he’s followed them since his youth. Then Jesus tells him
to sell everything he had, give the proceeds to the poor, and come follow him. This distresses the young fellow for he had many possessions. So, what did he lack? He lacked a relationship with God. His possessions had become his idol and priority, not having a priority that centered around his relationship with God. He replaced trust in God with possessions as these same possessions became a source of meaning and identity for him. Psalm 23 takes on a deeper reality for each of us when we come to grips with the fact that God will provide what we each need and to trust in his provision, not our retirement accounts or other material or emotional possessions. God is the only cause which allows us to say, “I lack nothing.”
I have a couple final thoughts on the value and significance of this psalm. First, it struck me that we’re not asked to “do” anything; we’re just to be willing to be led, to rest, to not fear, to enjoy a great meal, to soak up goodness and mercy, and finally to dwell with the Lord for ever. So much of scripture is filled with things that call us to imitate the life of Jesus: to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the orphaned and widows, visit prisoners, and love our neighbors as ourselves. Psalm 23 has us not only being protected by God, we’re also hosted by God to a banquet to end all banquets and to live in the joy of his grace and mercy. That said, as we more fully embrace this aspect of God’s care and love for us, we are nonetheless charged to let others know of this reality, a reality that is offered freely and to all. This reality is also for the hungry, naked, orphaned and widowed, prisoners and our neighbors.
And finally, this psalm offers us a glimpse of heaven, a dwelling place with God for eternity. One of the metaphors for life is that of a journey. This psalm takes us to pastures offering rest and restoration, through paths of clear and unobstructed paths of peace, through valleys of various trials, and to a place of food and enjoyment. I suspect that in each of our DNAs there resides a yearning for home after a life of traveling the roads of life.
I recognize that not everyone has experienced a great childhood or homelife, so the idea of yearning for home in this context doesn’t resonate. I nonetheless guess that whether it was the home of grandparents, aunts and uncles, or classmates, there is still a place that speaks to the love,
care, safety, and warm and genuine relationships we all desire. Mine was my grandparent Postell’s home in Gastonia, NC. It was filled with the smell of fried okra and peach fried pies. It was a place where a cold Mountain Dew awaited me and my cousins after an afternoon of riding our bikes. It was a place where grandpa would watch game shows and wrestling matches on TV and act like he was in the audience. It was a place where when grandma hugged us, we couldn’t breathe because she hugged us so tightly.
I think this is what the psalmist David is talking about when he writes of having a table spread before him, having the honor of oil poured on his head, of having a cup running over while being embraced with God’s goodness and mercy. Whether our memories on this temporal journey are joyful or challenging, God promises a dwelling where we will experience his joys of heaven forever.
Sir Isaac Watts, affectionately known as the Godfather of English hymnody as a result of him being credited with writing some 750 hymns, was an English Christian minister and theologian who lived from the late 15th century to the middle of the 16th century. His paraphrase of Psalm 23 remains one of my favorite pieces of music of all time:
My Shepherd will supply my need: Jehovah is His Name;
In pastures fresh He makes me feed, Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back When I forsake his ways,
And leads me, for His mercy’s sake, In paths of truth and grace.
When I walk through the shades of death
His presence is my stay; One word of His supporting grace
Drives all my fears away.
His hand, in sight of all my foes, Doth still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows, His oil anoints my head.
The sure provisions of my God Attend me all my days;
O may Thy house be my abode, And all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest, While others go and come; No more a stranger, nor a guest,
But like a child at home.
This is a promise of God and may we claim it with all our heart so that it transforms our soul.