4 Easter A May 7, 2017
Luther Memorial Church Seattle, WA
The Rev. Julie Hutson
Acts 2: 42-47 + Psalm 23 + 1 Peter 2: 19-25 + John 10: 1-10
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
Little Jimmy had gone with his grandfather after school one day to get a treat. Grandpa knew that Jimmy loved doughnuts….after all, who doesn’t? But on this day, Jimmy wanted to go anyplace BUT the bakery for a doughnut. “Why don’t you want a doughnut?” Grandpa asked Jimmy, who responded….”doughnuts change the color of your eyes!” “What?, No, that’s ridiculous. Nothing changes the color of your eyes”
But Jimmy was beside himself and steadfastly refused to even order a doughnut from the lady at the bakery. He crossed his arms and glared at his grandpa, who was relishing his maple log. Slightly amused, Grandpa finally asked Jimmy where he’d every heard such a thing. “I hear it on the radio on my way to school today,” Jimmy responded “Doughnuts make my brown eyes, Doughnuts make by brown eyes…doughnuts make by brown eyes blue.”
Song lyrics are infamous for the mixed up ways we hear them. And then they become so familiar to us, even if they are incorrect, that we end up thinking that a crueler can change our eye color.
The Church isn’t immune to these sorts of misunderstandings either. A friend of mine said that until she was old enough to read she thought God’s name was Howard. “Our Father, who art in heaven, Howard be thy name.”
The Psalm for today is one of the most well known of all of the Psalms. Many of us can recite it verbatim, and most from the translation of the psalm authorized by the King of England, James, to suit his purposes. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul.
This really is a beautiful psalm. Well beloved and rightfully so. And nothing I’m going to add here this morning will take away from that. But because it was originally written in Hebrew, there are some even more meaningful pieces that are literally lost in translation. So I hope you will bear with me this morning as we look at some word choices and what they might mean to us as we consider the 23rd Psalm.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
The Psalmist uses a familiar image for God in this verse, that of a shepherd. The originally hearers of this psalm would have understood a shepherd to be committed to providing for all of the needs of the sheep. Throughout Scripture there are many contrasts between good shepherds and bad shepherds. In particular, the bad shepherds are described in Ezekiel as those who feed themselves instead of the sheep entrusted to them. Ezekiel writes: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.” In contrast, God is the good shepherd and the sheep of God’s pasture have what they need because of God’s goodness and faithfulness.
The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.
The verb tenses in the Hebrew for makes and leads imply an ongoing action on the part of God. God does not bring the sheep to the pasture once or lead them to the water once, but God continually brings us to places where we find rest and renewal. This can be hard to remember in the midst of struggles or trials. And perhaps you are a person who has experienced more than one time of trial. More than one difficulty. This verse of the 23rd psalm reminds us that time and time again, God will bring us to places where we will find rest. We will not be left in the struggle.
You restore my soul, O Lord, and guide me along right pathways, for your name’s sake.
What are these right pathways? How do we know? When we are faced with a decision to make or we need to choose a course, how do we determine the right paths? The Hebrew word for pathways is a word that is closely related to the Hebrew word for young cow, or ox. So the path is a path that has been made by the wheels of an ox cart. It has been worn into the ground from repeated trips. The ruts are deep, but that is the good news. These are known paths. These are paths that have proven trustworthy. These are the right paths. And God offers the restoration of our souls and places us on pathways that have proven trustworthy.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
For many people, this psalm brings comfort as life on this earth ends. This verse is part of the reason why. The valley of the shadow of death. But there’s more to it than literal death. This phrase comes from a Hebrew word that has a dual meaning: to sink down and to be in darkness. So, to sink into a place of despair…perhaps it is more of an emotional death as much as it is a physical one. And who among us has not walked in that valley? But the psalmist assures us that we can walk there without fearing that evil is following us. Because God is with us and evil does not keep company with God.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil and my cup is running over.
The most popular and traditional interpretation of this verse is one of god preparing a table for us while our enemies look on. We’ll show them! God is setting OUR table. But think about it. What if God is preparing a table for us all. What if the presence of Jesus, which admittedly comes long after this psalm was written, breaks open the table and extends the welcome in wide and generous ways. What if God preparing a table before us in the presence of our enemies means that God invites us AND our enemies to this place of fellowship? Perhaps then our cups will truly overflow with the kind of life God desires for us. Perhaps then we will be who God intends us to be.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
What I want to share with you about this last verse was actually what propelled me to unpack these words and translations in this way this morning.
The word that is translated as follow, is radaph, which is better translated as pursue. Not follow like a loyal pet, but doggedly pursue. When we wander far, the goodness and mercy of God are in hot pursuit, pulling us back to God’s desire for our perfect peace, our lives of love, our shalom. In addition, the word translated as “surely” is aq, and is better translated as “only”. So only goodness and mercy will pursue me. Not danger. Not evil. But only goodness and mercy.
Finally, the word translated as ‘dwell’ is shuv. It can mean dwell…this idea that when we arrive in the house of the Lord we will want to stay there, to dwell there, forever. But we also remember the story of the transfiguration, when Jesus reminded the disciples with him that staying in a place together would mean the work of the gospel might not be shared. So I prefer the other possibility for the word shuv, which is return to. I will return to the Lord’s house. There is precedence for this in the Gospel reading today when Jesus says “Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.” They will come in and go out. They will shuv…they will return.
I encourage you to spend some time with this Psalm in new ways. Reimagine the shepherd as someone more contemporary who provides guidance. Reimagine what it means to be guided by them. Rewrite the psalm for yourself.
Based on our time together this morning, here is a reimagining of Psalm 23:
The Lord is my shepherd. I can trust God to care for me in loving and caring ways.
Time and time again, God brings me to places of rest and renewal.
My soul is renewed, O God, because you guide me in paths that are proven to be trustworthy and right.
When I sink into despair, you are with me – reaching out to guide and comfort me.
You say – go get the people who have hurt you, who are against you, and all y’all come to this table. I will anoint you withoil to remind you that you are mine. Then you will live with joy that overflows.
Only goodness and mercy will pursue me. And when evil and hatred are in my path, goodness and mercy will be hot on their heels. Every day I will return to the Lord’s house, where I find renewal and solace my whole life long.
Thanks be to God and let the church say…Amen.