Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
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.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
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.
- - -
You may have been through some hard times in your life but imagine the life of Viktor Frankl. Frankl is a Jew and a psychotherapist who survived six months in various German concentration camps but his wife did not survive. You may experienced the death of a loved one. You may still be grieving and wondering why you were left behind and they were taken.
Frankl describes how once, an elderly general practitioner consulted him because of his severe depression. He could not overcome the loss of his wife who had died two years before and whom he had loved above all else. Frankl wondered how he could help him? What should he tell him? He refrained from telling him anything, but instead confronted him with a question, "What would have happened, Doctor, if you had died first, and your wife would have had to survive you?" "Oh," he said, "for her this would have been terrible; how she would have suffered!" Whereupon Frankly replied, "You see, Doctor, such a suffering has been spared her, and it is you who have spared her this suffering; but now, you have to pay for it by surviving and mourning her." He said no word but shook Frankl's hand and calmly left the office. (Viktor Frankl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logotherapy)
In such instances, the words of the Psalmist ring down through the ages: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."
This week the world mourned the death of a great businessman, leader and visionary named Steve Jobs, the founder and CEO of Apple Computers. His vision helped create popular electronic devices such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad. An entire industry sprang up around these devices as software developers created small, specific software programs called "apps" for these devices. These apps covered the gamut from productivity tools to games. This week there was a comic strip showing Steve Jobs standing before St. Peter at the gates of heaven as St. Peter flips through a massive volume of the Book of Life searching for the entry for Steve Jobs in the Book of Life. Steve looks at Peter and says with a twinkle in his eyes, "I've got an app for that." A app for locating people in the Book of Life. That image bridges the gap between life and death, human technology and unseen spiritual dimensions. Bridging that gap is exactly what Psalm 23 does as well.
Purpose in life is the theme of the best known passage from the Old Testament: Psalm 23. The key to the passage lies in the first phrase: "The LORD is my shepherd." The LORD is my shepherd. The key to effective Christian living is our friendship with the LORD, our shepherd. Christianity is not so much a religion as a relationship with Jesus Christ. Our trouble arises when we neglect our relationship with the LORD. As long as we are growing in our friendship with God we will find there is nothing we lack and there is nothing we need.
Psalm 23 describes how our friendship with the Good Shepherd develops until following God's leadership becomes second nature. We luxuriate in the abundance of spiritual sustenance God's provides. We freely eat the bread of heaven and drink the cup of eternal salvation. As the Psalmist puts it: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." We can relax and be ourselves, secure in our friendship with God. Even our peculiarities and blemishes do not diminish the love of our Divine Shepherd. We have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. We are spiritually well fed, watered, and satisfied.
We sleep well at night and awaken refreshed and ready for further service. When our spiritual energy feels depleted, we know how to tap into God's power through prayer, study, and silence. Difficult choices demand our attention but we intuitively know what to do and how and when. The Spirit nudges us to contact someone we haven't seen in months and we find their dog just died and they needed some loving support at that moment. A relational knot that has been tied for years seems to dissolve and unravel before our very eyes. Miracles really do happen when we are following the Good Shepherd along the right path. We move in the flow of the Spirit and God gets all the glory.
Yet even in the midst of our relationship with Jesus, the human side of the equation breaks through in all its dull drudgery. Suffering breaks in upon out of the blue like like a downpour of rain from high on a cloudless day. We cannot get around the cruel concentration camp prison guard, the boss who is a bully, the friend who betrays us, or the relative who cannot seem to get her life together.
Someone sent me an email this week that describes such a scene. It starts, "Here I was sitting at the bar staring at my drink when a large, trouble-making biker steps up next to me, grabs my drink and gulps it down in one swig."
"Well, whatcha' gonna do about it?" he says, menacingly, as I burst into tears.
"Come on, man," the biker says, "I didn't think you'd CRY. I can`t stand to see a man crying."
"This is the worst day of my life," I say. "I'm a complete failure. I was late to a meeting and my boss fired me.
When I went to the parking lot, I found my car had been stolen and I don't have any insurance.
I left my wallet in the cab I took home.
I found my wife with another man and then my dog bit me."
"So I came to this bar to work up the courage to put an end to it all, I buy a drink, I drop a capsule in and sit here watching the poison dissolve; then you show up and drink the whole thing!
But enough about me, how's your day going?"
Everything is fine and dandy until we enter the dark valley. We see the shadow of death on the canyon walls and our knees feel weak. We stand beside another hospital bed and pray with a fearful family facing late stage cancer. Or perhaps we are the one laying in the hospital bed, learning for the first time the feeling of vulnerability and lack of control that comes with the term "patient." Or perhaps we are staring into the pit of financial ruin or the destruction of a long term relationship. Even in such desperate circumstances, we fear no evil. As Martin Luther wrote of the evil one, "One little word shall fell him." (Hymn: "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God")
Fear is the opposite of love. Our friendship with God is not based on fear. In fact, many of us must overcome fear of God as we begin our friendship with God. When we overcome our fear of God and enter into friendship with God, no other fear may conquer us. We become fearless with God at our side. We trust God. We have experienced God's discipline and support. We know God will defend us from all evil. The Good Shepherd imparts courage and comfort in times of need.
God sets a table before us as our enemies gaze and glisten. We feast without worry knowing our friend , the Good Shepherd, has our back. That rod and staff is God's big stick and God knows how to use it in our defense. From this place of friendship with God, we are able to defend the friendless, welcome the stranger, and minister to the sick and dying. Safe in God's loving embrace, we offer a supportive shoulder for others to cry on. Having been anointed with God's Holy Spirit, we have plenty of Spirit to share with others. The life force inside us overflows the boundaries of our energetic field and embraces all whom we encounter.
When wolves and robber barons discover God has our back they lose interest in pursuing us and seek out easier targets. We are then pursued by goodness, mercy, and love. As the Apostle Paul put it: "If God be for us, who can stand against us?" Our ultimate security is good for this life and the life to come. Again, Paul says, "Who shall separate us from the love of God? For whether we live or whether we die we belong to the LORD." Our friendship with Christ, the Good Shepherd, provides the foundation for spiritual health, abundance, sustenance, and help, in this life and in the life to come.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
According to Viktor Frankl, "We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways:
- by creating a work or doing a deed;
- by experiencing something or encountering someone; and
- by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering" and that "everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances."
Frankl says we may find meaning in life by creating a work or doing a deed. Steve Jobs found meaning in life by creating a corporation called Apple that will survive long after his death. John Calvin says you and I may find meaning in life through service to others. As Calvin put it: "We are saved to serve." Through serving Christ by serving other humans we may find meaning in life. I was reminded of disciples who do that last Thursday evening. Braes Interfaith Ministry had a dinner celebrating our years of partnership with other churches as we feed the hungry in this community. As I looked at the crowd of BIM volunteers at that dinner I saw people who had found purpose in life by serving others.
Yet even serving others does not protect us from suffering. Let's face it. Life is tough. It's not easy being a human being. Each day brings new challenges. We fall down and have to get back up on our feet. Suffering is unavoidable. Yet our attitude toward suffering is always our own choice.
As Jesus faced the suffering of the cross, in his last meal with his disciples, Jesus told them, "Listen to me, you are no longer just disciples, you are my friends." Jesus needed friends at that moment and Jesus needs friends now. We are the hands of feet of Jesus on this planet at this time. Jesus is counting on us to continue his work in the world. Jesus final message to his disciples is the same message as Psalm 23. Jesus says "You are my friends."
Whatever your suffering today, however your pain may sit in your soul or your body, know that Jesus considers you his friend. Imagine Jesus saying this to you for this is how he feels about you, from the lyrics of the pop song, You've Got a Friend:
When you're down and troubled and need a helping hand
and nothing, no nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there
to brighten up even your darkest night.
You just call out my name and you know, wherever I am,
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall all you've got to do is call and I'll be there
You've got a friend.
Let us renew our friendship with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, so that we may join with the Psalmist and with the faithful of every age and say:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
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The Rev. Dr. Jonathan L. Burnham preached this sermon on October 9 - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - at at St. John's Presbyterian Church , 5020 West Bellfort Ave, Houston, TX 77035 | Phone 713-723-6262 | sjpresby.blogspot.com
