Sermon for Easter 4a (Wed)

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.

A Psalm of Celebration

There is a Peanuts cartoon from many years ago, in which Charlie Brown is asked what "security" means. He describes the experience of riding in the back seat, while your parents are in the front seat, driving. You can sleep worry-free, he says, because they're taking care of everything.

We have what seems to be a very peculiar psalm appointed for the fourth Sunday of Easter. It is probably the best known psalm for most of us. If we didn't learn it in Sunday School as children, it has no doubt worked its way into our minds having recited it at just about every funeral. It carries with it a lot of baggage, that if we are honest with ourselves makes it a very heavy psalm indeed.

Our Prayer Book offers the following instruction for the burial office:

The liturgy for the dead is an Easter liturgy. It finds all meaning in the
resurrection. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we too, shall be
raised.

The liturgy, therefore, is characterized by joy, in the certainty that
"neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else
in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord."

This joy, however, does not make human grief unchristian. The very love
we have for each other in Christ brings deep sorrow when we are parted
by death. Jesus himself wept at the grave of his friend. So, while we
rejoice that one we love has entered into the nearer presence of our Lord,
we sorrow in sympathy with those who mourn. (507)

It seems natural that we tend to associate Psalm 23 with the later part of that instruction; grief, over and above the joy of the resurrection. Viewing funerals as a joyful celebration of the resurrection is easy to say but very hard indeed to live out. Naturally there is grief and sadness at the loss of a loved one. We miss them here on earth even as we await with joyful expectation of our meeting again in the age to come. There is something to be said, however, for placing Psalm 23 in that service of resurrection as well as its showing up here in Easter 4. Death has been defeated. Our focus is not on the Valley of the Shadow of Death nor the tomb in which our Lord and Savior was buried. Instead, we are called to look toward the heavenly banquet that comes as a promise from the empty tomb. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead to walk ahead of us as our shepherd. He offers us the security that is worry free existence; life abundant.

Not that it'll be all green pastures and still waters, but that he will be there with us. He will protect us from the thieves and robbers who would lead us astray. He will lay across the gate of the sheepfold as a first line of defense against the animals of prey who would have us for dinner. It certainly won't be an easy life, but the Good Shepherd will be with us all along the journey. I think it is this image that Charlie Brown was after as he pondered the true meaning of security. Mom and Dad may well be taking care of everything, but it certainly does not mean that the journey is not without its dangers. Instead, to feel secure is to trust fully in their willingness to do the best they can to bring us home safely. The same is true of our Father in Heaven. The right pathways of life are not without danger; like those found in the valley of the shadow of death, but it is God's promise to us that if we trust in him fully he will guide us along the best path possible.

I guess that's why I like Psalm 23 so much. It isn't rosey in its depiction of life, but it is confident in the assurances of God, the one true shepherd. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.