by Rev. Carole Horton-Howe
Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd, 19th century Russian icon, public domain
1 The Lord is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
3 He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
John 10:11-18
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
It’s time for one of the cherished traditions in our culture especially in Southern California. It’s Oscars night! And the excitement about that reminded me of a movie that speaks of the good shepherd. It’s The Book of Eli. And it’s truly a story of struggle of good versus evil. It takes place thirty years after a nuclear war. There are few people left on earth and fewer books. So virtually everyone under the age of thirty is illiterate. They live desperate lives in a desolate landscape. Food and water are scarce but violence they have in abundance.
And early on we meet Eli, a man who has a treasure that he must protect - the very last Bible in existence. Eli’s mandate from God to keep it safe by taking it “west.” For what exact purpose or outcome he doesn’t know but he understands and is committed to being the shepherd of this treasure and he is committed to following this command.
Survival is especially hard for women and Eli becomes the protector of a young companion along the way. Like most people born after the war she has no connection to books. She asks Eli, “Do you read the same book every day?” “Yes,” he says, “without fail.” She’s curious what about this book is so compelling and wants to hear more. “Read something to me.” she says. But Eli closes the Bible and recites from memory the 23rd Psalm.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for you are with me.”
Imagine being someone whose life is in danger, whose very survival from one day to the next is in doubt and hearing these words for the first time. It’s no wonder she says to him “that’s beautiful.”
The 23rd Psalm tells her everything she needs to know about the life and work, the goodness of Jesus Christ on this earth
Jesus wants us to understand who he is. He doesn’t just say I am the shepherd but that I am the good shepherd. Those who heard him would have understood that he was emphasizing qualities of goodness.
A real shepherd was born to his task. He was sent out with the flock as soon as he was old enough to go; he grew into the calling of being a shepherd; the sheep became his companions and it became second nature to him to think of them before he thought of himself. To a real shepherd, a good shepherd, it was the most natural thing in the world to give his life for his flock. So more than just tending a flock in good times when it was easy as a hired hand would, a good shepherd had to get between the sheep and anything that threatened them and the good shepherd was glad to do it never backing away from any threat.
The Greek word for “good” in this scripture is kalos. And kalos is good in the moral and ethical sense but it’s more than that – its goodness with a refined quality of beauty and loveliness that is joyful and childlike with a delight that draws us in. This goodness in our good shepherd remind us that we belong. Knowing what we know about Jesus role, we understand better our own role. We belong – to the one flock loved and protected by the one shepherd. Together we listen to the one voice and it is so compelling that we are called to take on those qualities and share them with others. We are called, quite simply by our Good Shepherd to do the loving thing.
This lesson comes to us soon after Jesus’ resurrection, before his ascension and before the disciples begin the intense work of spreading the gospel message. Life is going to get very hard for them. Many of them will be very far from home and the people and places and customs they know. They will be among those other sheep that are not of this fold – the ones that Jesus says you may not recognize them but they are mine. Tradition tells us that James preached in Spain, Thomas established the church in India, Nathanael in Armenia and Matthias in Cappadocia. Great difficulties are ahead for them. But they are about the go to these people to teach and preach and heal and demonstrate that God’s heart is so big that there is plenty of room for all people at all times.
During Holy Week and especially on Good Friday we had a reminder of why we so clearly need the words of the 23rd Psalm and the presence of the good shepherd. The Psalm just before, the 22nd Psalm starts with the words of Jesus as he was suffering on the cross, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” Why are you so far away? Because there the wide range of our human experience and our emotions from great joy and happiness and contentment to the other end of that scale when we are we are tired, when we are afraid, when we are unsure, when God feels so far away from us. We need the words of Psalm 23 to remind us that God is indeed right there and that in God there is safety and protection and intense love for us.
It is a truth that we are surrounded every day by shrill voices. All these other voices competing for our attention do not really want to know us. They can’t possibly know us. It makes us want to cry out “Lord, you have spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me! Just for one second of one minute, can you please shut out all the competing voices, interests, merchants, politicians, and commentators for just a few minutes of silence? Lord, can you please still the waters, can you please make me lie down in green pastures, can your rod and your staff please, Lord, comfort me, touch me, protect me, and heal me? Lord, please give me the time, the place, and the space to listen to you.”
The one who says, “I am,” wants to know us. The one who says “I am” also says, “I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for my sheep.” For people of faith, for people of the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ruth, Mary and Jesus, those are the two words we need to hear: “I am.” In fact, the one who says, “I am,” already knows us just as the Father knows him. And if we are paying attention at all, we will stop, and listen for the Good Shepherd – the Beautiful One.
Let’s go back to the movie for just a moment. I won’t spoil the story of Eli’s journey but he offers a prayer at the end the so perfectly show the experience of the Good Shepherd. “Thank you for giving me the strength and conviction to carry out the task given to me. Thank you for guiding me straight and true through the many obstacles in my path and for keeping me resolute when all around seemed lost. Thank you for your protection and the many signs along the way. Thank you for any good I might have done. I’m sorry about the bad. Thank you for finally allowing me to rest. I’m so very tired. But I go now in peace knowing that I have done right with my time on this earth. I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I kept the faith.”
Amen.