March 30, 2014
Fr. Philip Eberhart
(Click title for audio)
I am fascinated by the fact that our life - my life - is tied together with the lives of those who have been a part of this adventure, called REZ, and the adventure of the life IN CHRIST -- forever!!
Look around you -- If you are a sincere follower of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, then those you are looking at around you here today -- are members of the family, to the extent that they sincerely follow Jesus too! And we aren't the judge of that, He is.
I think what I've discovered over the years, now almost 20, since I was ordained at a church called Good Shepherd, not too far from this spot, is that our lives are bound together! The Good Shepherd himself is the thread that binds the tapestry of the Body of Christ together, the Spirit of God the breath in that Body and the force of love, the unfailing love of the Father, an unbreakable thread that ties the individual lives we live as we follow him, together!
There is something mystical about the Shepherd and the flock He shepherds. This morning I just want to take a few minutes and reflect on this psalm, 23 and some of Psalm 95, and some verses from John 10.
Along with the Lord's Prayer, John 3:16, the "Love Chapter" in 1 Cor 13 or the "Faith Chapter" in Hebrews 11, this Psalm in Psalm 23 is probably some of the most familiar prose in the whole of scripture - and it speaks of a relationship that endures the passage of time. One that endures the scourges of suffering and enmity and death... One that keeps pulling us back into that place of relationship with the Lord who is the Shepherd himself and with those who have walked with us through the pathways of our life's journey.
The Psalm begins with a simple but bold affirmation of God's position and His provision in our lives.
The LORD is MY Shepherd! I Shall not want. period.
Jehovah Ra'ah - The Lord, My Shepherd. There are some facts about being in this relationship that are inescapable and unchangeable!
I shall not want. The words here are clear, right? As long as we are in relationship with this Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, we will not be in a position of lack. That's what the Hebrew word used here means.
The pastoral setting affords us some insight into the source of abundance for the sheep - green pasture, still water. But the words that precede those are the interesting ones aren't they - and the telling ones?!!
He makes me to lie down... He leads me.
Anyone here ever deal with sheep - or animals of almost any kind!! Have you ever tried to "make" them do anything? to lead them to anywhere?
I think dogs are the best - and obviously I think cats are the worst!! Somewhere in the middle are sheep! The problem with sheep is not that their stubborn or independent so much, but that they are just plain dumb.
The story of the Shepherd in Luke 15, a story we've heard here recently, the story of the lost sheep, is predicated on the story of a sheep that wanders off from the flock and puts itself in mortal danger, why. Because that's what happens to sheep - they eat their way onto the edge of a cliff without ever even looking up! From one tuft of grass to the next, completely oblivious to their surroundings, the rocks, the cliff or the thousand foot drop off!!
They are suddenly lost! John 10 and Luke 15 talk about the perils in the life of a sheep - perils from its own lack of attention or perils from outside threats. The answer to both is its relationship with the Shepherd - with Jesus. We are told that the sheep know the voice of the shepherd - that they follow him when they hear his voice.
In Israel on a tour some years back, one of my professors was standing in the front of the tour bus waxing eloquent about this parable, after they had passed a flock of sheep being driven along the side of the highway. The tour bus suddenly came to a stop, as the professor talked about the Good Shepherd and the bus driver humbly corrected the learned professor. He said this man that was behind the sheep driving them was NOT the Good Shepherd! The shepherd would be walking in front of the flock. This man was the butcher.
Often I think we confuse the voices around us in our culture - are you hearing a voice in front of you, inviting you and leading you -- or are you hearing a voice from behind, accusing and driving you? Never be confused which one is the voice of the Shepherd!
The promise of the Good Shepherd, the life of the sheep who follows faithfully will be "revival" - a kind of wellspring of refreshment and a sense of "guidance" in your life - guidance from the voice of the Lord for the sake of His Name! Isn't that something we all desire? To be guided in the pathways that are right, that are abundant with grass and water, that are quiet and peaceful? Right? The pain-free life!! Yes??!!
Read on!
The right path that we are on will sometimes lead through that infamous valley: "The valley of the shadow of death." In the valley we find what? just look at the words that follow: death, evil, those who trouble me.
For me the point here is not that God will lead us away from these "valley" experiences, but that He will be with us "Through" them. The valleys will come and go - they are part of the journey. I love the series of books and movies by JRR Tolkien. The story of the Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Ring, is a portrayal of the path of life and the presence of evil and challenge in the world. Really, there was not much that was easy about the journey, was there? We all have our valley's - our places of trial and testing, of fire and smoke, of battle, of sorrow and of loss. Many times it seems like we just live there in the valley. But the valley isn't our home. The shire is.
The green pastures and the still waters are our home - and part of being in relationship with the Shepherd is the promise that, even in the midst of the valley, even in the face of death and sorrow, there will be a table set.
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!"
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