WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:07.580 I'm excited to introduce our preacher this morning. Some of you already know him. His name is Dr. David O. Taylor. 00:00:08.120 --> 00:00:13.500 He is the Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:18.640 He's also an ordained Anglican minister, and he's also a friend of ours. 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:25.500 He's recently done an event for us looking at his most recent book, Open and Unafraid, which is a book on the Psalms. 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:33.859 And when I knew we would be looking at the Psalms this summer, I knew we had to reach out to David Taylor and see if he would be willing to preach for us. 00:00:34.019 --> 00:00:38.600 And he agreed, so I'm very excited to have him with us this morning. This is Dr. David Taylor. 00:00:40.620 --> 00:00:47.700 All right, good morning, friends. My name is David Taylor. I'm so pleased to be with you. 00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:53.359 I know that we're separated, as always, by geography. I am here in Austin, Texas. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:01:06.019 You are in Virginia. But by God's grace, the Holy Spirit can and does wish to bind us together in ways that defy our capacity to ask or even imagine. 00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:14.460 So that's what I'm praying for this morning, that we will feel our kinship together in some tangible and perhaps even miraculous ways. 00:01:14.459 --> 00:01:23.919 A heartfelt thanks to Tommy and the staff for kindly inviting me and trusting me to you and you to me. 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:26.039 It's a gift, so thank you. 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:37.579 My text for today is Psalm 23, and I'd like to read it and then offer some comments on it. 00:01:37.579 --> 00:01:46.420 So allow me to read our text for today. I'm going to read it in the King James, which maybe some of you read it in the King James on a regular basis. 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:55.480 Maybe some of you haven't read the Bible in the King James, but perhaps it might fall in a fresh way upon our listening ears and heart. 00:01:56.920 --> 00:01:57.819 Psalm 23. 00:01:57.819 --> 00:02:00.379 The Lord is my shepherd. 00:02:00.899 --> 00:02:01.859 I shall not want. 00:02:02.379 --> 00:02:04.679 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. 00:02:04.819 --> 00:02:06.799 He leadeth me beside still waters. 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:09.180 He restoreth my soul. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:14.419 He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:20.319 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:23.560 Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:27.400 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:30.400 Thou anointest my head with oil. 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:31.960 My cup runneth over. 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:40.599 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:44.360 Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. 00:02:45.480 --> 00:02:47.960 It was in the beginning, now is, and forever shall be. 00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:48.759 Amen. 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:48.959 Amen. 00:02:50.179 --> 00:02:54.899 Okay, my text today, obviously, is Psalm 23. 00:02:55.959 --> 00:03:03.539 Preaching on Psalm 23 is a little bit like being asked to preach on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:13.159 What could I possibly say that was new or fresh or insightful about a song that has been read and prayed and sung, 00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:17.680 perhaps more than any psalm, and let's just be honest, in American history. 00:03:18.379 --> 00:03:23.400 Because it is not actually one of the beloved psalms of church history. 00:03:24.359 --> 00:03:30.139 Okay, so I'm fighting here against an awful sense of familiarity. 00:03:30.139 --> 00:03:41.079 Perhaps we're dealing with images that are evoked in our minds from Sunday school lessons where we might have seen this image. 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:46.980 Now, this very famous painting by Warner Solomon of The Lord is My Shepherd, 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:55.240 with its vision of little plump sheep and utopian pastures devoid of any hint of death valleys, 00:03:55.540 --> 00:03:58.060 and hovering over this idyllic landscape. 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:05.560 There is this well-groomed Caucasian Jesus emanating an unflappable emollient aura. 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:14.080 Well, that is, perhaps for some of us, the image that immediately comes to mind when we think Psalm 23. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:21.959 It is, for what it's worth, an image that is a thousand miles removed from the idea of shepherd in this particular psalm, 00:04:22.019 --> 00:04:25.120 throughout the Psalms, throughout the Old Testament, and certainly throughout the Gospels. 00:04:25.699 --> 00:04:30.840 Nonetheless, these are realities that we face when we come to the text. 00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:40.859 So then, what do you say to a people for whom Psalm 23 may simply be an awful lot of white noise? 00:04:41.060 --> 00:04:46.739 Well, you tell them this, that verse 1, in fact, represents the Gospel, 00:04:47.419 --> 00:04:55.439 and that it identifies our fundamental need as human beings and our fundamental fear as human beings. 00:04:55.639 --> 00:04:59.500 So, if you don't remember anything that I say this morning, remember this. 00:04:59.500 --> 00:05:03.180 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 00:05:03.639 --> 00:05:11.379 That phrase, that statement, identifies your fundamental need and, conversely, your fundamental fear 00:05:11.379 --> 00:05:15.300 that the Lord will, in fact, not be your shepherd, 00:05:15.699 --> 00:05:19.259 and that you will always find yourself in want, 00:05:20.100 --> 00:05:27.519 perhaps in very specific places in your life that you have not experienced the Lord's shepherding care. 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:31.719 So, before I offer some comments on this one verse, 00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:35.560 allow me to offer a few comments, brief comments on the larger context. 00:05:35.919 --> 00:05:40.459 As my New Testament professor in seminary, Gordon Fee, used to tell us often, 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:43.859 context, context, context is everything. 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:49.839 So, first thing to say is that there is this fantastic dialogue that is taking place 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:54.060 between Psalm 22, Psalm 23, and Psalm 24. 00:05:54.060 --> 00:06:00.399 In Psalm 22, for example, the psalmist is this utterly needy individual 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:03.819 who experiences being utterly forsaken by God. 00:06:04.519 --> 00:06:10.860 In Psalm 24, on the other hand, God appears as this divine warrior king 00:06:10.860 --> 00:06:17.220 who owns everything, wants for nothing, and generously provides for all creatures. 00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:20.760 In between is Psalm 23. 00:06:21.520 --> 00:06:26.300 And the psalmist individual functions as a kind of representative figure 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:34.020 who wants for nothing, but surrounding him on every side stand death and enemies, 00:06:34.460 --> 00:06:37.500 realities that we are all familiar with these days. 00:06:38.200 --> 00:06:39.680 A second thing to point out is this. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:46.019 While we may be tempted to read Psalm 23 as the story of this self-contained individual 00:06:46.019 --> 00:06:50.139 serenely moving through life, the editors of the Psalter will, in fact, 00:06:50.660 --> 00:06:56.780 not allow us to read the text this way, in a peculiarly American way, if I may say so. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:03.240 They sandwich Psalm 23 between Psalm 22 and 24 in order to remind us 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:06.720 that we simply cannot do life alone. 00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:15.340 We are in this fundamental need for others, which we experience rather acutely these days. 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:19.740 A final thing to note is that there are three movements in Psalm 23 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:25.379 that correspond to three key metaphors that open up the meaning of the psalm for us. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:30.199 In verses 1 to 3, the Lord appears as a shepherd and the psalmist as a sheep. 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:35.360 In verses 4 and 5, the Lord appears as a host and the psalmist as a guest. 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:40.579 And in the final verse, the psalmist is at home in the house of the Lord. 00:07:41.639 --> 00:07:45.740 It is in this way, I suggest to you, that the psalmist represents for us 00:07:45.740 --> 00:07:53.000 a journey from a traveler out in the world to a family member who has finally arrived home. 00:07:54.180 --> 00:08:00.139 It's in this sense, I suggest to you again, that Psalm 23 is the story of Adam and Eve. 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:02.060 It's also the story of Israel. 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:04.399 It's the story of the early church. 00:08:04.699 --> 00:08:08.079 And in fact, it's your story and my story. 00:08:08.620 --> 00:08:15.920 Travelers out in the world facing all kinds of difficult and demanding experiences in life, 00:08:16.019 --> 00:08:20.259 things that try us to our core, like death and enemies, 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:25.620 with this deep hunger to arrive someday at home. 00:08:25.620 --> 00:08:30.579 Okay, a few brief comments about the larger context. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:35.399 With that in mind, let's take a look at Psalm 23, verse 1. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:40.919 The first word that appears in this text, as you all know, is the Lord. 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:42.659 Why is that significant? 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:49.519 Well, in the Hebrew, this is the sacred four consonant name that God reveals to Moses, 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:53.679 what you and I sometimes read in our translations as Yahweh. 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:58.000 This is the very personal name of God. 00:08:58.100 --> 00:08:59.759 This is God's forever name. 00:08:59.899 --> 00:09:02.639 He is the, I am with you, near you, God. 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:05.699 He is the, I see you, God. 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:08.399 There's nothing generic about this name. 00:09:08.939 --> 00:09:11.240 It's the difference between saying, I'm a man, 00:09:11.240 --> 00:09:15.759 and saying, I'm the son of Bill and Yvonne Taylor. 00:09:15.879 --> 00:09:17.480 I'm the husband of Phaedra. 00:09:17.539 --> 00:09:20.740 I'm the father of Blythe and Sebastian. 00:09:20.940 --> 00:09:24.060 It's the difference between, I see all of you, 00:09:24.419 --> 00:09:29.340 and you don't know me rather well, and so my seeing is rather generic. 00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:31.240 In fact, I can't really see you, 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:34.399 but if I were in the same room with you in the flesh, which would be fantastic, 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:36.240 I would say, I see you. 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:41.779 But when I say to my wife, I see you, it's a different kind of seeing. 00:09:42.299 --> 00:09:46.560 That's the kind of seeing that is expressed in this name, Yahweh. 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:50.560 The Lord is the first thing that we encounter. 00:09:50.700 --> 00:09:53.100 The second thing we encounter is my shepherd. 00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:54.820 The Lord is my shepherd. 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:56.659 Why is this important? 00:09:56.860 --> 00:10:00.740 Well, for one, you can't actually be a good shepherd at a distance. 00:10:00.740 --> 00:10:07.399 You have to be a near-at-hand, quite literally at-hand's-length caretaker. 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:12.519 A faraway shepherd is fundamentally a contradiction in terms. 00:10:13.539 --> 00:10:16.740 Now, a second thing to point out is that in ancient Near Eastern societies, 00:10:17.659 --> 00:10:19.399 of which Israel was a part, 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:24.100 the language of shepherd usually appeared in the plural. 00:10:24.860 --> 00:10:26.940 The Lord is our shepherd. 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:32.240 But here, rather uniquely in some instances, 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:34.780 it appears in the singular. 00:10:36.300 --> 00:10:38.060 You are my shepherd. 00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:42.880 This is meant to arrest the reader's attention, 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:46.380 the Israelites, the faithful Israelites' attention. 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:49.600 There are no generic people in God's family. 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:56.240 There's only Tommy and Dan and Kevin and Deborah and you. 00:10:57.820 --> 00:11:00.080 In a collectivist society, 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:07.840 in a society that is forged and bound in these deep senses of social kinship, 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:14.420 where the we and the are may be more primary than the me and the I, 00:11:14.419 --> 00:11:22.419 this language of the Lord is my shepherd does catch the attention of this faithful Israelite, 00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:29.399 because they are no longer in danger of thinking that they no longer matter, 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:32.059 because they're simply part of this collectivist whole. 00:11:32.539 --> 00:11:36.059 Here, the language is very, very personal. 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:38.039 The Lord is my shepherd. 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:40.879 The Lord is my shepherd. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:42.379 I shall not want. 00:11:42.839 --> 00:11:47.500 Now, what's most striking about the psalm is that the Lord provides food and rest and guidance and protection 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:51.579 in precisely the places where we often feel most helpless. 00:11:52.719 --> 00:11:54.439 In death's dark valley, 00:11:54.959 --> 00:11:56.740 in the presence of enemies, 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:00.039 and in our experiences of evil. 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:01.899 or put in contemporary terms, 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:04.059 in the face of a global pandemic, 00:12:04.860 --> 00:12:07.819 in the presence of a vicious anxiety, 00:12:08.199 --> 00:12:12.360 or in our experience of injustice and powerlessness. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:17.299 The psalmist signals to the reader the critical importance of this reality 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:21.579 by shifting suddenly into a second person address, 00:12:22.019 --> 00:12:24.079 from he to you, 00:12:24.899 --> 00:12:27.620 from he guides me to you are with me, 00:12:27.620 --> 00:12:31.159 from he leads to you comfort me, 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.700 from he refreshes to you protect me. 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:39.320 It's a little bit like a little girl that I know, 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:40.659 namely my daughter, 00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:42.580 who, one time, 00:12:43.100 --> 00:12:47.460 was trying to tell her daddy something that had made her sad at school, 00:12:47.620 --> 00:12:49.799 and her daddy was at his desk 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:56.180 dealing with emails and notes and things that usually demanded his attention, 00:12:56.179 --> 00:12:58.699 and he felt was more important in the moment. 00:12:59.199 --> 00:13:00.120 And he kept saying, 00:13:00.299 --> 00:13:00.599 uh-huh, 00:13:00.979 --> 00:13:01.620 and yes, 00:13:02.019 --> 00:13:02.579 and really, 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:05.019 in a semi-absent-minded way, 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:08.239 while writing his very important notes, 00:13:08.699 --> 00:13:10.319 and never really giving her, 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:11.599 his daughter, 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:12.639 eye contact. 00:13:13.479 --> 00:13:15.739 And the little girl suddenly bursts out, 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:17.039 look at me, 00:13:17.319 --> 00:13:17.579 daddy. 00:13:17.580 --> 00:13:21.440 And here's the thing. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:23.460 God is never like this daddy. 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:29.520 He always gives us that attentive, care-filled eye contact. 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:35.280 His care for us is always I, thou, 00:13:35.620 --> 00:13:38.360 not he, it. 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:40.080 It's you and me. 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:43.920 The King James translates verse 5 with the phrase, 00:13:44.040 --> 00:13:45.140 my cup runneth over. 00:13:45.139 --> 00:13:48.220 Now the cup here is a shorthand for the whole meal, 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:51.000 and it runneth over in the sense that God's provision 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:55.100 always in some sense exceeds what we can ask or imagine. 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:58.159 It's like when Father Christmas shows up in Narnia 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:01.539 and surprises the wearied, dispirited travelers 00:14:01.539 --> 00:14:04.620 with gifts they never expected to receive. 00:14:04.759 --> 00:14:06.720 To Mrs. Beaver, a new sewing machine. 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:10.600 To Lucy, a bottle of magic cordial. 00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:15.420 And for all of them, a pot of hot tea and cream and sugar. 00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:20.300 Finally, the experience of not wanting in Psalm 23 00:14:20.300 --> 00:14:22.920 reaches its climax in the final benediction. 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:26.460 After all the lying down and the guiding and the walking 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:29.580 and the eating and the consummation of one's life, 00:14:29.680 --> 00:14:33.100 there is finally an arrival, home. 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:39.180 Now as with the whole of the Psalter, let me suggest to you, 00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:42.920 Psalm 23 functions as a kind of counter-narrative 00:14:42.920 --> 00:14:45.100 to the primordial story. 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:48.860 In Genesis 3, the serpent asks Adam and Eve a question 00:14:48.860 --> 00:14:51.040 that he asks you and me both. 00:14:51.700 --> 00:14:52.820 Did God really say? 00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:56.060 And the presumed answer is no, he didn't. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:58.259 In fact, I don't know his name. 00:14:58.259 --> 00:15:02.000 The serpent also asks our first parents a question 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:06.939 whose intention is to sow doubt in their minds and ours as well. 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:09.700 Will God really take care of you? 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:12.340 Will he really take care of you? 00:15:12.419 --> 00:15:15.379 Will he take care of you in the places that you feel your need 00:15:15.379 --> 00:15:18.139 most acutely and consistently? 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:20.500 And the presumed answer, again, is no. 00:15:20.620 --> 00:15:24.059 He cannot and will not take care of me. 00:15:24.200 --> 00:15:28.139 And finally, the serpent brazenly contradicts God's own words. 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:32.059 God is cheating you, the Satan would say. 00:15:33.100 --> 00:15:35.240 So take what he owes you. 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:36.460 Grasp it. 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:40.100 Be like God, the sovereign of your own life. 00:15:40.740 --> 00:15:44.419 The presumption here is that if you don't take care of yourself, 00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:48.439 then you will always be in this state of lack. 00:15:49.379 --> 00:15:54.399 In fact, for many of us, an oppressive, burdensome state of lack. 00:15:54.399 --> 00:16:01.240 So in what ways, dear friends, do you feel these temptations? 00:16:01.459 --> 00:16:06.860 In what way do I feel these temptations in these trying days? 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:10.240 Now that's the story of the first Adam. 00:16:10.460 --> 00:16:14.340 The story of Jesus, the last Adam, turns out, thank God, rather differently. 00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:18.519 Satan's first temptation to Jesus in the wilderness, as you well know, 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:22.220 to turn a few stones into a handful of bread loaves, 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:27.460 to take care of himself, because presumably his father certainly will not. 00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:31.259 But Jesus, again, thank God, refuses this temptation, 00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:35.060 chooses to trust his father, the empirical evidence notwithstanding, 00:16:35.820 --> 00:16:39.460 and offers his body instead as bread for the whole world. 00:16:39.460 --> 00:16:44.639 When you look at the face of the wounded and resurrected Christ, 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:48.840 you see the, I will be with you always, God. 00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:54.720 You look at this good shepherd, and you see the one who knows us by name and hears our voice. 00:16:56.019 --> 00:17:01.080 There's a good chance that many of us have had experiences in life where we have not been seen, 00:17:01.580 --> 00:17:08.160 we have not been heard, we have not been known and loved for who we really, truly are. 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:12.220 I remember one experience many, many years ago, working in an organization 00:17:12.220 --> 00:17:19.480 where my immediate boss threw me under the bus, took credit for things that I had done, 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:24.160 and when we were in conversation with the CEO of the company, 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:29.600 he lied straight up to his face and to my face, 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:32.660 and there was no way for me to save face. 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:36.600 And I resented him for months afterwards, 00:17:36.860 --> 00:17:41.620 because I felt that not only was I punished unjustly for things that I had not done, 00:17:41.940 --> 00:17:44.720 I was not seen for who I really was. 00:17:44.820 --> 00:17:48.880 And if they really knew who I was, these things would not have happened. 00:17:49.420 --> 00:17:51.940 And there's a chance that you have had those kinds of experiences, 00:17:52.180 --> 00:17:54.940 perhaps in your relationship, in your marriage, 00:17:54.940 --> 00:17:59.580 or with your parents, or with siblings, or with friends, or with co-workers, 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:02.420 where you have been seen and found wanting, 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:04.039 you have been seen and judged, 00:18:04.120 --> 00:18:05.960 you have been seen falsely, 00:18:06.019 --> 00:18:09.100 you have not been seen and known and loved and cared for, 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:11.519 for who you truly are. 00:18:14.120 --> 00:18:17.580 God, of course, our shepherd, is not that way. 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:21.480 And yet the reality is, if we're honest with ourselves, 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:26.220 we do not always experience the Lord as our shepherd in this particular way. 00:18:26.619 --> 00:18:30.699 In Psalm 23, the psalmist finds himself traveling through life's terrain, 00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:33.279 and to all this activity in his life, he says, 00:18:34.199 --> 00:18:35.199 I shall not want. 00:18:36.579 --> 00:18:39.559 And yet when you and I look at our lives, 00:18:39.879 --> 00:18:40.740 we do want. 00:18:41.099 --> 00:18:42.559 You do want. 00:18:43.159 --> 00:18:44.740 You want in your marriage. 00:18:44.740 --> 00:18:47.799 Your children may leave you wanting. 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:51.900 Your parents denied you the care that you needed and deserved. 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:53.900 Your budget is strained. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.200 Your body is chronically in pain. 00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:57.839 Your job exhausts you. 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:00.079 Your country fails you. 00:19:01.579 --> 00:19:02.539 Well, we're in want. 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:05.579 That is, for some of us, 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:08.559 our perpetual condition is to be in want. 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:10.000 So no, we cannot say, 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:11.700 I shall not want. 00:19:12.019 --> 00:19:13.259 Not with a clean conscience. 00:19:13.259 --> 00:19:17.039 In Psalm 23, the psalmist faces death's dark valley 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:19.680 and shares a meal in the presence of his enemies. 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:21.180 And here, too, he says, 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:22.299 I shall not want. 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:23.140 But you want. 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:25.160 If you're honest with yourself. 00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:27.420 If you look with a clear eye 00:19:27.420 --> 00:19:29.180 at the world around you, 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:30.640 you feel anxious 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:33.920 about the unpredictability of this virus. 00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:36.960 Good God, what's going to happen in the fall? 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:40.640 A global recession may ensue. 00:19:41.140 --> 00:19:44.299 Your small business may go bankrupt. 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:46.700 Medical professionals feel overwhelmed. 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:49.980 Our black American brothers and sisters 00:19:49.980 --> 00:19:52.880 are violently choked and shot to death. 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:56.420 Your elderly parents feel the worst. 00:19:56.660 --> 00:19:59.500 School administrators have no idea 00:19:59.500 --> 00:20:00.960 what they're really going to do, 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:02.380 and if they have made a decision, 00:20:02.380 --> 00:20:05.100 not quite sure if it was the right one. 00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:07.660 And perhaps you're in a situation, 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:08.700 maybe you have children, 00:20:08.860 --> 00:20:09.720 maybe you know folks, 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:10.760 friends who have children, 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:11.660 or you have grandchildren. 00:20:12.460 --> 00:20:13.800 Some will be homeschooled. 00:20:14.060 --> 00:20:15.580 Some will be partially schooled. 00:20:15.620 --> 00:20:17.280 Some are actually going to school 00:20:17.280 --> 00:20:18.800 because that's their only option. 00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:21.400 And we wish to protect and support 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:23.200 and honor and love 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.100 school administrators and school teachers. 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:27.459 But we also keep in mind 00:20:27.459 --> 00:20:29.839 that there are single moms and dads. 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:32.839 There are working moms and dads. 00:20:33.419 --> 00:20:35.879 There are folks who are in broken marriages. 00:20:36.219 --> 00:20:37.980 Folks who are headed on the way 00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:40.619 out of a marriage through divorce. 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:43.159 There are some in our families, 00:20:43.419 --> 00:20:44.500 maybe you in particular, 00:20:44.699 --> 00:20:45.519 maybe your children, 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:48.339 who are struggling with mental health issues. 00:20:48.879 --> 00:20:51.000 Going to school, not to school, 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:53.279 these are not easy decisions. 00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:55.399 And we find ourselves feeling 00:20:55.399 --> 00:20:56.819 in this state of want 00:20:56.819 --> 00:20:59.099 that threatens to overwhelm us. 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:01.720 In Psalm 23, 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:02.940 finally we arrive at home 00:21:02.940 --> 00:21:05.279 joyfully not wanting for anything. 00:21:05.779 --> 00:21:07.259 So says the psalmist. 00:21:07.500 --> 00:21:10.099 And yet, again, we want. 00:21:10.920 --> 00:21:13.279 Peter's grandfather and my aunt, 00:21:13.379 --> 00:21:14.319 my father's sister, 00:21:14.399 --> 00:21:17.879 died during this pandemic period of COVID-19. 00:21:18.299 --> 00:21:20.379 And neither of us could go to the funeral. 00:21:20.380 --> 00:21:22.720 Those of us, 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:24.140 or those of you 00:21:24.140 --> 00:21:25.340 who are single 00:21:25.340 --> 00:21:27.200 and extroverted or introverted, 00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:28.800 feel forsaken 00:21:28.800 --> 00:21:29.960 in some way 00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:30.980 in your isolation. 00:21:31.840 --> 00:21:32.840 If you have children 00:21:32.840 --> 00:21:33.400 or grandchildren 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:34.360 or have friends 00:21:34.360 --> 00:21:36.820 or have a children's ministry 00:21:36.820 --> 00:21:38.760 that you have a great care for, 00:21:39.280 --> 00:21:40.420 you see many children 00:21:40.420 --> 00:21:42.260 who are fearing the unknowns 00:21:42.260 --> 00:21:43.660 and feel a kind of anxiety 00:21:43.660 --> 00:21:45.340 that perhaps they've never experienced. 00:21:45.339 --> 00:21:46.139 And you worry 00:21:46.139 --> 00:21:47.559 that they will now carry 00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:49.500 a trauma in their bodies 00:21:49.500 --> 00:21:50.980 for years to come. 00:21:51.619 --> 00:21:52.439 Racial injustice 00:21:52.439 --> 00:21:54.659 continues to affect our churches. 00:21:55.259 --> 00:21:56.419 This whole thing 00:21:56.419 --> 00:21:57.379 is a dark valley 00:21:57.379 --> 00:21:58.359 and all we see 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:00.199 are perhaps enemies everywhere. 00:22:00.399 --> 00:22:01.240 Enemies of life. 00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:02.319 Enemies of hope. 00:22:03.019 --> 00:22:04.279 Enemies of sanity. 00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:06.259 We don't feel at home 00:22:06.259 --> 00:22:07.740 and we worry that God 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:09.119 is deaf to our prayers. 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:11.419 So here's the real question. 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:13.419 What does it really mean 00:22:13.419 --> 00:22:13.939 to say, 00:22:14.179 --> 00:22:15.319 the Lord is my shepherd? 00:22:17.139 --> 00:22:19.179 What if we really can't say this? 00:22:20.819 --> 00:22:21.839 What do we do? 00:22:22.979 --> 00:22:24.199 Well, allow me to offer 00:22:24.199 --> 00:22:26.239 two final practical suggestions 00:22:26.239 --> 00:22:28.539 as we bring this to a close. 00:22:29.699 --> 00:22:31.199 First suggestion is this. 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:32.159 You pray this psalm 00:22:32.159 --> 00:22:33.439 as Christians throughout centuries 00:22:33.439 --> 00:22:35.419 have in fact often prayed it 00:22:35.419 --> 00:22:37.339 as a petition in faith, 00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:39.519 not a statement of fact. 00:22:40.379 --> 00:22:41.559 You pray these words 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:42.679 as a way perhaps 00:22:42.679 --> 00:22:45.000 to stumble towards the truth. 00:22:46.819 --> 00:22:48.459 If you struggle to believe 00:22:48.459 --> 00:22:50.240 that the Lord is your shepherd, 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:53.419 then here's what I suggest. 00:22:54.139 --> 00:22:55.839 Consider pausing briefly. 00:22:56.359 --> 00:22:57.759 Whether in the morning times 00:22:57.759 --> 00:22:58.539 or noon times 00:22:58.539 --> 00:22:59.319 or evening times 00:22:59.319 --> 00:23:00.519 or any time in between. 00:23:01.399 --> 00:23:03.639 Pause in the middle of your day 00:23:03.639 --> 00:23:06.299 and say out loud 00:23:06.299 --> 00:23:07.799 with whatever faith 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:09.359 you can muster. 00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:11.980 Lord, I don't feel 00:23:11.980 --> 00:23:13.700 that you are my shepherd right now, 00:23:13.859 --> 00:23:15.299 but I desperately need you 00:23:15.299 --> 00:23:16.220 to be my shepherd. 00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:17.859 Please be my shepherd 00:23:17.859 --> 00:23:19.619 this day, 00:23:19.879 --> 00:23:20.399 this hour, 00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:21.000 this moment. 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:22.879 There's something that happens 00:23:22.879 --> 00:23:24.359 when we say out loud 00:23:24.359 --> 00:23:26.019 these things that are true. 00:23:26.579 --> 00:23:27.759 I'm not sure I understand 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:28.399 the physics 00:23:28.399 --> 00:23:31.460 or the miraculous nature of it, 00:23:31.639 --> 00:23:32.940 but there's something powerful 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:33.579 that happens 00:23:33.579 --> 00:23:34.799 when we say out loud 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:36.339 the things that are true 00:23:36.339 --> 00:23:37.319 and bear witness perhaps 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:37.980 to our heart. 00:23:38.299 --> 00:23:38.980 And the Holy Spirit 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:40.899 uses this confession, 00:23:41.099 --> 00:23:42.299 this profession of faith, 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:45.139 this stumbling towards the truth 00:23:45.139 --> 00:23:47.720 to do something in our hearts, 00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:49.439 even if we can only say it 00:23:49.439 --> 00:23:50.619 in half-hearted 00:23:50.619 --> 00:23:52.399 or perhaps broken-hearted ways. 00:23:52.919 --> 00:23:54.480 The second piece of advice 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:55.919 I would offer to you 00:23:55.919 --> 00:23:58.059 is one that you are already familiar with, 00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:00.220 and that is to ask for help 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:01.519 from others. 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:03.920 You can't do it alone. 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:05.500 It's again what Psalm 22 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:06.639 and Psalm 24 00:24:06.639 --> 00:24:08.119 would remind us 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:09.259 about the true nature, 00:24:09.539 --> 00:24:10.319 the true meaning 00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:11.539 of Psalm 23, 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:13.700 that we cannot do it alone. 00:24:13.900 --> 00:24:15.619 We cannot be in this place 00:24:15.619 --> 00:24:16.900 of being able to say, 00:24:17.180 --> 00:24:18.079 I shall not want 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:19.420 by ourselves. 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:21.799 So, if it means 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:22.519 that we recommit 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:23.779 to praying for one another 00:24:23.779 --> 00:24:24.819 in a way that perhaps 00:24:24.819 --> 00:24:25.940 we've never done 00:24:25.940 --> 00:24:26.940 with such a sense 00:24:26.940 --> 00:24:28.059 of urgency before, 00:24:28.619 --> 00:24:29.460 we do that. 00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:31.100 It means that we reach out 00:24:31.100 --> 00:24:31.740 to one another 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:33.400 and we share generously 00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:34.039 with one another 00:24:34.039 --> 00:24:35.640 and that we do not give up 00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:38.279 easily on one another. 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:39.840 It means you say out loud 00:24:39.840 --> 00:24:40.460 to one another 00:24:40.460 --> 00:24:42.240 the truth that our hearts 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:44.120 struggle to believe. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:45.400 And I understand 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:47.039 how difficult it is 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.200 to ask for help, 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:49.079 not the first time, 00:24:49.559 --> 00:24:50.579 but perhaps not the second 00:24:50.579 --> 00:24:51.519 or even third time, 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:52.660 but find yourselves 00:24:52.660 --> 00:24:54.360 in the same state of want, 00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:56.299 wanting for the same thing, 00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:57.680 needing for the same thing. 00:24:57.680 --> 00:24:59.000 And you think to yourself, 00:24:59.140 --> 00:25:00.060 I don't want to be a bother. 00:25:00.580 --> 00:25:01.259 I don't want to be 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:01.960 a burden to anyone. 00:25:02.120 --> 00:25:03.620 I'm tired of this same issue. 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:04.620 And by that fourth 00:25:04.620 --> 00:25:05.299 and fifth time, 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:06.019 you give up. 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:07.480 And I want to urge 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:08.259 and encourage you, 00:25:08.420 --> 00:25:09.039 don't give up. 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:09.960 Keep reaching out. 00:25:10.140 --> 00:25:10.680 Keep calling. 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:11.460 Keep texting. 00:25:12.180 --> 00:25:13.340 Keep Marco poloing. 00:25:13.460 --> 00:25:14.519 Keep WhatsAppping. 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:15.880 Keep whatever it is. 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:17.500 Keep reaching out 00:25:17.500 --> 00:25:20.259 in your expression 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:21.380 of help 00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:23.420 and also offering 00:25:23.420 --> 00:25:24.620 that help to one another. 00:25:24.619 --> 00:25:26.379 So then, 00:25:26.979 --> 00:25:27.799 Psalm 23, 00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:30.299 The Lord is my shepherd. 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:32.439 I shall not want. 00:25:33.219 --> 00:25:34.179 These words are true. 00:25:34.979 --> 00:25:36.659 They're not always easy to say. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:38.000 In fact, 00:25:38.619 --> 00:25:40.599 but the Lord offers them to us 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:41.819 as a grace, 00:25:42.159 --> 00:25:43.299 as a gift to us, 00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:45.479 particularly in these 00:25:45.479 --> 00:25:46.839 trying and troubling times. 00:25:47.379 --> 00:25:48.059 Let me pray. 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:50.659 O Lord, 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:52.579 where I feel needy today, 00:25:53.179 --> 00:25:54.960 may you satisfy me 00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:56.119 with your bread of life 00:25:56.119 --> 00:25:58.019 and with your living waters. 00:25:58.419 --> 00:25:59.679 Where I feel tempted 00:25:59.679 --> 00:26:00.859 to hide from others, 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:02.539 Lord Jesus, 00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:03.240 may you, 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:04.859 as my true shepherd, 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:05.879 strengthen my heart 00:26:05.879 --> 00:26:06.940 to reach out to others. 00:26:07.179 --> 00:26:08.139 And where I feel 00:26:08.139 --> 00:26:09.279 far from home, 00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:11.519 perhaps even far from home, 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:13.200 in my own self, 00:26:13.700 --> 00:26:15.399 in my own house, 00:26:15.919 --> 00:26:16.460 may you, 00:26:16.460 --> 00:26:17.480 the true host, 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:18.840 help me 00:26:18.840 --> 00:26:20.640 to be at home 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:21.500 with you 00:26:21.500 --> 00:26:22.759 and I welcome you 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:23.500 once again 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:25.039 to make your home 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:25.779 with me 00:26:25.779 --> 00:26:27.400 and my home 00:26:27.400 --> 00:26:29.440 with my family, 00:26:29.700 --> 00:26:30.579 with my community. 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:32.259 And I pray your blessing 00:26:32.259 --> 00:26:34.759 on this beautiful community 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:35.880 of Church of the Advent. 00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:37.600 May you guard 00:26:37.600 --> 00:26:38.680 and protect 00:26:38.680 --> 00:26:39.720 and guide 00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:40.960 and be with them 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:42.799 through their own valleys 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:44.980 of the shadow of death 00:26:44.980 --> 00:26:45.640 in the presence 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:47.400 of their own experience 00:26:47.400 --> 00:26:48.019 of enemies. 00:26:48.500 --> 00:26:49.539 Be their good shepherd. 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:51.140 May they not be in want 00:26:51.140 --> 00:26:52.720 because they know 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:53.720 deeply 00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:55.460 in their heart, 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:56.279 soul, 00:26:56.620 --> 00:26:56.960 bodies, 00:26:57.079 --> 00:26:57.740 and bones 00:26:57.740 --> 00:26:59.380 that you are 00:26:59.380 --> 00:27:00.180 their good shepherd. 00:27:00.900 --> 00:27:02.120 In your name I pray. 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:03.960 Amen. 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:06.140 Bless you, dear friends, 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:07.480 and may God be with you 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:08.779 and be your good shepherd 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:09.500 this day 00:27:09.500 --> 00:27:11.000 and the days to come.