The Fourth Sunday of Easter

"The Lord is my shepherd"

The Rev. David Frazelle

(*This sermon is intended to be read dialogically, with someone at the lectern reading the italicized verses of psalm 23, and the preacher at the pulpit reading the meditations corresponding to each verse.)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.
I shall not be in want, because what I want and need more than anything else is to be with the Lord. That is why I was created – to be with my Creator. I do not belong to my belongings. I am not made by how much I make. I am not controlled by what I can control. I am a beloved child of God, a sheep of Jesus’ flock. 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.
The Lord leads me to rest, to stillness, to stopping my frenetic activity. He makes me turn off the radio, the television, the computer, the cell phone, the blackberry, the iPod, the facebook and the tweet feeds. He makes me have dinner with family and friends. He sends me on retreat. He invites me to pray. He makes me sit down and eat the grass that fills my belly and satisfies my soul’s hunger for union with him. He gives me cool waters that quench my thirst for his love. He gives me the living waters that he promised. 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 namesake.
Having put my soul to rest in him, he then wakes me up. He revives me, but my life is not the same as it was before the green pastures and the still waters. I lay down in the grass worried about whether people approved of me. I woke up concerned about people knowing God’s love. I drank the still water anxious about my performance and my security. I looked up from the water and saw those who have no security or opportunity. I wandered in worry about the prestige of my name. The good shepherd found me and taught me to walk in the paths of righteousness for the sake of his Name. 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; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
In your presence, Lord, there is no fear. The valley is deep and the shadows long, and death still stares me in the face. But as long as you are there, I fear nothing, for perfect love casts out all fear. The valley becomes a pathway. The shadow becomes a veil behind which your true light awaits me. Death becomes a gateway to clarity of vision and fullness of life. 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, the comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me . . .
In the presence of those who trouble me? Who troubles me? Surely I’m too polite to have enemies? How about the contractors who no longer pay their bills to me because their clients no longer pay their bills to them. How about the night and weekend hours I’m putting in at the risk of my health to make up for lost revenues. How about my boss, who tells me I must make greater efforts to justify the existence of my position to the CFO. Or the percentage of my paycheck lost to budget cuts. Or the dual threat of a flu pandemic and the loss of my health insurance. Or the searing headlines that make my shoulders tense and my heartbeat quicken. How’s that for starters in the cast of characters who trouble me. It is in the midst of these realities, right in the middle of these enemies, that you spread a feast on the table before me. And at that table I see that I am not alone. Not only am I with my shepherd who led me here, but I am also united to the community that he created when he laid down his life for us and took it back up again. 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.
Lord Christ, you sealed us at our baptisms with the oil of your chrism, so that we might manifest your presence and your compassion in the world. That is why we who gather around your table also care for one another in times of economic trouble, public health crisis, or any other adversity. Lord Jesus, you laid down your life for us, and you taught us to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. The blood you spilled for us now courses through our veins as we care for the members of this community as members of our own body. My cup is the cup of your salvation that we share with one another. You have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.

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.
Lord, we are in your house now, and we have known your goodness and mercy embodied in this community of faith. May the rest we enjoy in these green pastures and still waters be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven. May the new life we receive here draw us ever more fully into the risen life of your Son, Jesus Christ. And may this Eucharistic feast be a foretaste of that heavenly banquet where we feast with the saints in light. 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.

In invite you to pray with us now the 23rd psalm, found again in your bulletins:

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;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
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.
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.