Psalm 23
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30
It is appropriate that Psalm 23 be read and heard in the midst of death and dying. It may be more important, however, that this psalm be read and heard as a psalm about living, for it puts daily activities, such as eating, drinking, and seeking security, in a radically God-centered perspective that challenges our usual way of thinking. Furthermore, it calls us not simply to claim individual assurance but also to take our place with others in the household of God.
J. Clinton McCann in The New Interpreter’s Bible
The 23rd Psalm must be the most popular piece of scripture in the Bible. If there is any part of scripture that has been memorized it is this one. When I lead a funeral service this is the most requested psalm. In fact some churches automatically use it for every funeral. Psalm 23 provides much comfort to us in times of death.
Today I invite you to consider this psalm in a different light. For a few minutes try to think of it also as a Psalm for Living. The 23rd Psalm tells us something about living each day of our lives under God’s care and God’s guidance ----- just like the traditional shepherd of sheep cares for and guides sheep.
What do we read?
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." This is the King James translation.
In Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase we read: "I don’t need a thing!"
J. Clinton McCann tells us the sense of those words is: "I shall lack nothing."In our day we have come to expect a lot. What were at one time luxuries have become necessities. Think of the first car you purchased. Think of your present car. At one time in my life I considered things like power steering, carpeted floors, air conditioning, and dual temperature controls to be unneeded luxuries. Now I would not buy a car without them. Indeed, I would probably have to work hard not to have them included in a car!
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. God gives me what I need in this life. Those of us who have experienced tight times learn this lesson. Back in our graduate school days and part-time income days with three children Karen and I learned what was a necessity and what was a luxury. And somehow we also knew that God provided for our daily living. We never were hungry or thirsty.
When the Psalmist speaks of green pastures, we hear food.
When the Psalmist speaks of still waters, we hear drink.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Psalm 23 is tell us that the daily realities of our lives are not to be taken for granted and not to be treated as rewards we have earned. They are indeed a gift from God.
The challenge for us is to trust in God, not just at times of death, but in times of life, daily life. Perhaps that is why a sincere prayer at mealtime is so important ---- to remind us that God is our God each hour of the day - each time we take a breath, each time we eat a morsel of food. Yes, when we read the 23rd Psalm we are assured that God gives us everything we need. Not necessarily everything we want. But surely everything we need.
2. As we continue to read this beloved Psalm, we discover it is a Psalm for the Living in another sense. This Psalm for the Living brings us together with other people of God into a "household of God." We read of a "table" prepared for us. Here we are blessed when "thou annointest my head with oil." Here we have more than we need when "my cup runneth over." Here was "dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
This is not a tv tray kind of table, but a great banquet table meant for you and for others of God’s people. This great table is now prepared for us today as a communion table. This is a meal that we have often associated with death ---- with a "Last Supper" eaten just before Jesus is arrested, tried, and executed. But in its profoundest sense this is a meal of life. In these days after Easter we remember that on the evening of the first Easter Jesus ate a special meal with two disciples at a village called Emmaus and during that meal they recognized him as the risen savior. In these days after Easter we remember that one morning after the Resurrection Jesus surprised his disciples by the shore of Lake Galilee and invited them to a fish breakfast. And they recognized him as the risen savior. Perhaps they remembered the words of the "Psalm for Living" as they ate.
This is what I invite you to do this morning as we eat and drink. Remember the "Good Shepherd" who invites you to eat and drink and live each day of your life as one who is loved and upheld. Remember the "Good Shepherd who invites you to reach out to one another and even to those you will never see. Remember that you are one who can say: "I have all I need."
"To be sure, Psalm 23 is to be heard in the midst of death and dying, but it is also to be heard amid the ordinary daily activities of living. And it gives these daily activities an extraordinary significance, for it invites us to share daily bread with all of God’s people." (J. Clinton McCann, Jr.)
