This morning we turn to Deb Clewell’s favorite scripture, the 23rd Psalm. This short chapter of the Bible is probably the most memorized portion of scripture – even people who are not devout know it.
This Psalm is believed to be written by King David – in his childhood and teen years, he was a shepherd. Yet, when he was a king, he penned these words – he declared that God was the true shepherd, the true king, of God’s people.
Please say the words of the 23rd Psalm with me – we all probably have slightly different versions memorized. Just say it the way you know it….
The Scripture Lesson Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Amen.
Let us pray….
The Message Why We Walk Together
We are living through a weird time in American history, in world history. We are more connected to each other than ever before, and we simultaneously are more lonely than ever before. I can pick up the phone and talk to my friend in Switzerland at any point of the day or night, or even drive to the airport and hop on a plane and fly around the world to visit her, but I can go for weeks at a time without talking to my next door neighbors. Many of us are isolated and lonely.
In former times, people lived surrounded by family members. People lived in inter-generational households…children shared rooms with each other…aunts and uncles and cousins lived nearby. Whole extended families lived in the same neighborhoods or small towns – we all went to the same schools and churches. And, even if you weren’t actually related to your neighbors, people became almost like family with them. When you are sharing a bathroom with 12 people, it is hard to feel lonely…being lonely was uncommon.
But, now, things are different. Many people work from home. We have our own yards, our own cars, and locked doors to conceal our private struggles from other people. Everything looks good from the outside, but sometimes what is going on inside is a mess – a lonely mess.
Everyone in this room, and watching online, is either coming out of a dark valley, currently going through one, or will eventually enter one. Let me repeat that: Everyone in this room, and watching online, is either coming out of a dark valley, currently going through one, or will eventually enter one. Sometimes the dark valleys surprise us and are totally unexpected.…They often require a lot of endurance and patience. Part of being alive, of being human, is that we will face dark valleys…they are unfortunately universal.
(Pause)
Many of us have the King James Version of the 23rd Psalm memorized – that only fashioned thee, thou, thy languages, so we may not notice this…but, The first three verses of the 23rd Psalm are different from the final 5 verses ... .the grammar changes. In verses one through three, the writer of the Psalm, King David, talks about God as a “he.” David is describing how God works – describing him from a distance, in a more remote way. But, in verse 4, when the Psalmist enters a dark valley, he shifts to talking about God as “you.” In the dark times David stopped talking about God abstractly and shifted to God as a real presence in the Psalmist’s life – a You. God isn’t distant and far away, but is someone who we can speak to directly….have a real relationship with….know personally. God is someone who is right there in the dark valley with us.
When sheep walk through ravines and dark valleys, they don’t walk through them alone. They walk as a flock. They survive because they are part of a herd of sheep. The shepherds’ rod and staff are used to help the sheep – they are tools to keep them connected to the group and to pull them out of thickets away from harm.
Like sheep, we need each other just like we need the good shepherd. Our church is not this building. Our church does not have a legitimate address. Our church is not this physical location. Instead, the people sitting in these pews are the church. The people who are tuning in from home are the church. Our church, Trinity Christian UCC, is the people who chose to be part of this community – we covenant with one another and our God to share the burdens of each other’s valleys.
We are called to be the arms of our Good Shepherd for one another. When we shake each other’s hands, or give each other a hug, or even a fist-bump, we are the hands and arms of our Good Shepherd on earth. We figuratively pull each other out of the brambles – we figuratively prod each other along so that we stay part of the group. We help each other as we journey through the dark valleys and we face those valleys with each other.
Sometimes, we are afraid to tell other people what is going on with us. We don’t want to be downers or we want to keep our personal dark valleys secret. But, we are here for each other. We are called to pray for each other. We are here to drive each other to appointments or bring a hot dish over when our fellow brother or sister in Christ is too sad to cook…or too tired to cook. We are here to offer suggestions on job searches or offer support when our children are far away. We are committed to being here for each other when we wade through the darkest valleys…or crawl through the darkest valleys.
As people of faith, we can take comfort in our relationship with God. God is a YOU for us – when we pray, we can talk directly to God – we don’t need anyone to be an intermediary, to intercede for us. And, it is also a comfort and a privilege that we are here to support each other, to help each other on our journeys of faith and our life journeys. God is our comfort all of the days of our life and as we transition from this life to life-eternal. In addition to our loving God, we are also called to be comforters, and supporters, and cheerleaders for each other as we live out our faith in Jesus, and care for one another….we are called to care for the other sheep in our flock.
Praise God that we get to be God’s sheep. Thanks be to our Loving Good Shepherd, and thanks be to the brothers and sisters we have in Christ. Amen.
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