Shepherd Sunday
“Shepherd Sunday”
Psalm 23 John 10:22-30
Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C, May 12, 2019
Pastor Andy Kennaly
Sandpoint, Idaho
This is the time of year when the sun gets stronger and the spring-green starts to really get our attention. The leaves pop out of their buds, flowers bloom, fruit trees offer nectar to insects and beauty to the eye. Grass certainly grows fast this time of year, and sometimes people mow their lawn twice a week during May and June. Life is prolific, and grows while the growing is good.
Surrounded by such greenery and beautiful meadows and pastures, it may be hard for us to relate to a Psalm about shepherding in the Middle East, especially one like Psalm 23 that’s laced with language that presumes we know the imagery behind the words. Things like “still water” referring to water that is safe to drink and linger by, as opposed to a desert wadi, which is a dry gully that has flash floods when rains from the mountains violently channel down the hills into the valleys. If a sheep is lost in a wadi, a flash flood could dangerously and quickly wash it away. The shepherd knows where to lead the sheep for “quiet waters” or “still water.”
The Psalmist assumes we know what’s behind the imagery of green pastures, and of the rod and staff bringing comfort rather than destructive blows; a table of abundance which even includes enemies, anointing with oil, and overflowing cups. One line after another is filled with symbolic metaphors based on the near eastern, Semitic, agrarian culture of shepherding, which most of us are not familiar with. On top of all of that, to us, this region the Psalmist lives in would look like a desert. It is really hard for us as Americans to relate to Psalm 23.
That may sound strange, because it’s also one of the most familiar of all scripture in the United States. The Twenty Third Psalm is especially popular for _______. (Funerals! What we call, a Service of the Resurrection, which is probably why it’s listed as a text in the Easter Season). In times of personal challenge and grief at the loss of a loved one, Psalm 23 brings words of comfort, reminding us that God, Love, is active and eternal.
J. Clinton McCann, a professor of biblical interpretation at Eden Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, challenges us by saying,
“To virtually no Christian in the United States does it occur to interpret Psalm 23 ‘as a political tract;’ and probably never do North American Christians read Psalm 23 expecting to be instructed about ‘the evils that it condemns.’” (J. Clinton McCann, Evangelical Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Eden SeminarySaint Louis, MO, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=578).
He points out that in much of the rest of the world, this psalm is not a funeral psalm, but as it exposes the hypocrisy of the State, it is a revolutionary and rebellious psalm. It is political, and teaches about our evil ways, which are anything but comforting in an ultimate sense, and actually feed the cycles of death and destruction.
You’ve seen the headlines about people in Sudan, Africa, for example.
As CNN puts it,
“For most people in Sudan, Omar al-Bashir is the only leader they have ever known, his 30-year rule defined by brutal oppression and astounding political survival. Under Bashir, an entire generation grew up in the shadow of war, where the threat of torture in infamous "ghost houses" was never far away, and press freedom nonexistent. Girls grew up looking over their shoulder for marauding gangs of "morality police," ready to flog them simply for walking down the street with a male friend. Boys in the north grew up in fear of being dragged from their homes to fight the civil war in the south.” (https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/11/africa/sudan-omar-al-bashir-nima-elbagir-intl/index.html).
Headlines like this show us the power of Psalm 23 as a political statement that claims a deeper spirituality that says, “The LORD is my shepherd, not you, not the State, only God!” This is echoed throughout many regions and countries in the world where intense struggle is taking place.
In terms of teaching about evil, Douglas John Hall, a Canadian theologian reminds us of how we live in a daily context that he calls, “The kingdom of death,” which basically means there is much in life that takes God’s intention for us to experience life abundant, and reduces this.
McCann expounds on this, saying,
“To be sure, most North Americans will not view themselves as victims "of unjust secular authority;" and so most North Americans will need help identifying the "forces of tyranny" at work among us. Consider, for instance, Thomas Merton's assessment of our situation:
Even though there's a certain freedom in our
society, it's largely illusory. Again, it's
the freedom to choose your product, but not
the freedom to do without it. You have to be
a consumer and your identity is to a large
extent determined by your choices, which are
very much determined by advertising. Identity
is created by ads.”
Like a fish swimming in water, we find it difficult to notice the tyranny or evil of our culture. To acknowledge these evils seems pretty overwhelming, so it’s easier to just go along with things, to be domesticated. Violence, for example. The headlines of the news, the go-to resources keeping all options on the table for politicians, the elephant in the room no one talks about in terms of federal budget spending, and the media-promoted TV and movies that tap into our bent for violence; all these rage on seemingly unchecked, let alone called evil, surrounding us with daily “bombardments” (violence is even in our language) of things which move us further from God’s intention of abundant life, a life of peace, justice, love, and connection through relationship. Unity is a key biblical theme.
“All powerful, all holy, most high and supreme God, sovereign good, all good, every good, you who alone are good, it is to you we must give all praise, all glory, all thanks, all honor, all blessing; to you we must refer all good always. Amen.”
Any thought on who those words of prayer are attributed to? Around the year 1205? St. Francis of Assisi. He would be overcome while “marveling and contemplating the goodness of Almighty God”; experiencing God’s love, he would suddenly call out, “My God and my all!” Over and over again he’d say this as a prayerful response to God’s loving Presence. My God, and my all! (Omnibus of Sources, p. 1303; https://www.franciscanmedia.org/7-key-moments-in-the-life-of-saint-francis/).
In a materialistic culture that champions the financial success of the individual, “infectious greed” is one description of what characterizes our society. But this morning on this Fourth Sunday of Easter, like St. Francis, we are invited to choose a different response to the goodness of God’s love lavished upon us. That response is less about hoarding and more about abundance giving itself away. A response of thankfulness, that God values life, and life is a gift.
As Professor McCann summarizes,
In contrast to us busy and industrious North Americans, who are inclined to view life as an achievement -- we make a living, we say -- Psalm 23 affirms that life is essentially a gift. As such, the appropriate response is not greed, but rather infectious gratitude! Such gratitude may even mean that we are free to do without, or at least free to be content with enough. It may mean that we do not have to be a consumer. Instead of being compelled to consume, we are set free to share, quite literally, for God's sake -- to share our food, our drink, our sources of security, and to share even with the enemies who are with us at the table God prepares.
On a sunny Sunday morning, a warm spring day with above average temperatures, a Mother’s Day at that, we celebrate relationship, love, and care. Jesus reminds us of unity with God, and the Psalmist tells the benefits of the Good Shepherd. God Almighty can be relied upon to give basic provisions which sustain life.
As we go into the week ahead, let’s come alongside the way other parts of the world interpret scripture, as political tracts leading to social change, seeking justice and peace as the higher value to the world. Open your eyes to see the evils we would rather ignore, open your hearts to receive God’s gift of life abundant and respond to the invitation to be content. Open your mind to free yourself of controlling thoughts and opinions that are conditioned and limited. Let God love you, love through you, and receive your love as you give God thanks. May we claim our place in the circle of Divine Dance, part of love’s embrace as Jesus states a deep truth of unity; that we live out divine intention, as he says, “The Father and I are one.” “My God! And my all! My God! And my all! My God! And my all!” As we minister in Christ’s name, guided by the Good Shepherd, may God be glorified, NOW, even as forever. Amen.