“Known By the Good Shepherd”
“Known By the Good Shepherd”
Psalm 8 Psalm 23 John 10:11-18
Year B, Fourth Sunday of Easter and Earth Day observed, April 21, 2024
Pastor Andy Kennaly, Sandpoint, Idaho
“No gear, no steer!” That was part of the orientation at the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland as Shawna and I rented a canal boat for a weeklong journey towards Edinburgh during the 2017 Sabbatical. In very strong Scottish dialect, the instructor showed the shifter, the throttle, and the rudder. “No gear, no steer.”
Those narrowboats are very long, the canals are not wide, and it takes maneuvering to navigate the systems of locks, aqueducts, tunnels, and blind corners with oncoming boat traffic. To steer, the boat engine must be engaged. You need to be in forward gear or reverse, with power from the throttle, so the propeller moves water over the rudder. No gear, no steer, and you just drift wherever the wind, water current, or momentum take you. It is better, although sometimes frightening, to commit to motion, to put the boat in gear, give it some fuel, and with trust and confidence, go for it. That’s when you discover that things have a way of working out.
Barbara Rolph shared a key insight with the pastor’s text study last Tuesday as we talked about the 23rd Psalm. She pointed out something that was pointed out to her at some point in life. It seems obvious, yet I don’t remember noticing it before, and how many times have we looked at the 23rd Psalm, one of the most popular in America? It’s in the part when the Psalmist says, “[The LORD] leads me in 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.” When we read that part, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley,” what usually stands out is the part about the darkest valley. But Barbara pointed out the importance of the word, “through.”
The larger context involves the LORD that leads us in right paths, yet the very next step involves the dark valley. If you’re on the right path, you’re going to have dark valleys. But that word, “through” means that we are not stuck in the dark valley, we are not lost in the dark valley. We are led, and we journey “through” the dark valley. This also takes faith, trust, and confidence, all of which are shown by the Psalmist in this important reflection.
It may be hard for us to relate to a Psalm about shepherding in the Middle East. We’re several cultures and languages removed from the Psalmist in the Negev. Loaded terms, like “still water” or “rod and staff” or “cup overflowing” leave us wondering. Every line in this Psalm has more to the story than mere terms or images, and each metaphor has a backstory of discovery that helps the meaning open up. One line after another is filled with symbolic metaphors based on the near eastern, Semitic, agrarian culture of shepherding, which most of us don’t understand and have not experienced.
Yet this is also one of the most popular of all scriptures in the United States, especially for funerals. In times of personal challenge and grief at the loss of a loved one, Psalm 23 brings words of comfort; they remind us that God is active and eternal. Notice it doesn’t get us out of tough times, but it reminds us of Presence within tough times, Presence that leads us through tough times. The Psalmist walks through the darkest valley, but they do not fear evil because of God’s Presence.
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want…” The LORD. In English translations we have that word, LORD, in all capital letters because it is a breath word for Yah-weh, the unspeakable holy of holies. God Almighty self describes as the great I AM, or I will be who I will be, the blessing of Presence. Maybe for us this capitalized LORD would be better translated as God’s “Is-ness.” God’s Is-ness is my shepherd. This active quality is a relational reality, the living grace and love that pervade all of life at the deepest levels of existence.
This active Is-ness is described by key words. It’s the LORD who makes, leads, restores, is with, comforts, prepares, and anoints. Every aspect of this Psalm involves the dynamic movement of God’s Is-ness, and we are called to put our trust in, and take our part within, this Is-ness.
Psalm 8 reminds us that we only have to open our eyes, the eyes of our heart, to see and experience this Is-ness in the Earth. “O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the Earth!” This phrase becomes the bookends, the opening and closing of Psalm 8, a look at how amazing God’s creation is as a reflection of God’s Is-ness. It shows humanity waking up to spiritual realms of participation, that we share the divine command to care and steward God’s works of creation. Domestic or wild, on land or in the sea, this all-encompassing vision of Earth and cosmos has a way to put things in perspective as we’re called to child-like innocence and mindful humility.
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals, that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4)
A three-tiered universe involves hell down below, Earth in the middle, and heaven up above. But which way are those stars? Where are the stars for us? Can you point to where the stars are? (most people point up) It looks like you are pointing up, towards the sky. But are you sure that is really up? If North America is on the side of the planet, maybe you’re pointing sideways? Is the north really at the top of the planet and the south at the bottom? Who’s to say that the south isn’t the top of the planet, and most maps are upside down? The planet spins on axis so we tend to think the polar ends are either a top or bottom, and this is why the North Star doesn’t seem to move while all the others swirl through the night sky and change with seasons.
We are used to pointing, which puts ourselves as the reference to all other things. But if we say the stars are “up there” and point to the sky, then we’re negating the fact that there are stars in reference to all other things, all around the planet in every direction that we are not pointing. Earth is part of, surrounded by, and held within a larger cosmos of participation. Life is permeable, transparent, and filled with energy that unites all things. God’s all-encompassing Is-ness cannot be pinned down to one place or another, to one direction or another, to one time or another. Transcendent Presence fills it all.
Earth Day reminds us that there is much to care about because God is expressed in many ways. The divine Presence within creation is worthy of honor. To cause waste, to destroy or neglect, these are in violation of Love’s command to care and uphold. While on the one hand Earth Care is hardwired into us as creatures, on the other hand our own limited perspectives can fool us and lead us astray. We all participate in life’s mix because simply by living we have an impact. Simply by having eyes only on the front of our face, there is much we do not see.
Jesus knows the call to live out Love’s command is not easy. If it was, sheep would not need a shepherd. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” He contrasts this with a hired hand that runs away when trouble comes, leaves the sheep to imminent destruction. But Jesus doesn’t run away. A good shepherd gives their life energy to the flock, a flock known and loved, a flock that listens for the shepherd’s voice and welcomes connection to other flocks.
As we celebrate Earth Day this week, and as the Sundays of Easter continue, may we open ourselves more to deep trust in God’s Is-ness to help us through hard times; to unlearn behaviors and attitudes that stifle larger realities that draw us forward; and may we learn to follow Jesus, the Good Shepherd who knows us and gives us life. May our stewardship reflect authentic gratitude for gifts of grace. And may God be glorified, now, and forever, Amen.