The Lord is Our Shepherd

Based on Psalm 23
First delivered Mar. 22, 2020
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            I had planned to base this week’s message on Ephesians 5. As the week went along, so much time was spent on consulting with colleagues, calling parishioners, listening to the latest updates on the coronavirus, processing information and making decisions, that by Friday morning I had barely started on my message. I had read through Ephesians 5 a number of times. But, honestly, nothing was coming to me. The season we are going through right now overwhelmed my thoughts, and nothing in that passage was speaking to me. So, I looked to see what the other lectionary options were for this Sunday. I was drawn to Psalm 23. The unfolding of this pandemic has been very challenging to all of us. Psalm 23 speaks to me a word of comfort and promise during this difficult time. I want to reflect with you on this beloved psalm with the hope that you will be encouraged as we journey together through this pandemic.

            “The Lord is my shepherd.” This is a reminder to me that I am not the shepherd. Jesus is. The pastor, who is in a position of leadership, is sometimes considered to be the shepherd of her flock. I get that. I understand that part of the role of pastor is to be a shepherd, to provide guidance, to oversee the congregation. But any pastor will tell you, serving as a pastor during a global pandemic such as this is a new experience. I have heard our governor say a number of times that when he lies down at night he asks himself if he has done enough. I assure you, there are a lot of pastors who are wondering the same thing. What eases the pressure for me is to remember that the Lord is the shepherd. I can do what I can and it will have to be enough for today. “I shall not want.” Our shepherd gives us what we need when we need it. The comfort and strength we all need comes from our trust in God, and not in our own strength. With the Lord as our shepherd we shall not be in want.

            These are stressful times and a lot is being asked of all of us as we make dramatic shifts in our daily life for a season. The shepherd is there to guide all of us through these unchartered times, this journey that none of us know how long will take. As a shepherd guides the sheep along, so our shepherd is with us on this journey to guide us. We are not left to wander aimlessly through this time of crisis. The shepherd, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is leading. We can follow that lead by paying attention to what the Spirit is saying to us. In a recent blog by Pastor Sara, our assistant D.S., she said that if you think it and feel it, act on it. For example, if you think about your neighbor, check on them. If you notice something is off with a co-worker during a zoom call, follow up. When you feel anxiety building, reach out to someone you love and trust and talk about it. I would say that this is how the shepherd leads us by the Spirit through this time of crisis, by influencing what we think and feel, and by giving us the motivation to act in appropriate ways.

            “God makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.” I have noticed this in my life as I start each day fresh. And even to an extent when I get to bed at night. The in between times are full of anxiety, decision making, trying to focus on the matter at hand, taking care of daily responsibilities. But at bedtime, and when I first get up in the morning, the Lord is giving me rest. Each day, before jumping in to all that lies ahead, I am receiving the grace to begin the day with some quiet. I ease in to the day. At the time that the sun begins to rise, I go outside to greet the morning. For about fifteen minutes, I stay outside, standing or sitting, and I take some deep breaths. I get grounded in my body by feeling the ground under my feet, by noticing any tightness anywhere in my body. I try to still my mind, let thoughts pass through, be still, and ask God to give me a word that I need. It is usually a short phrase like, “stay focused” or “give yourself to others” or “rest”. I end the time with gratitude for another day. These fifteen minutes of greeting the morning has been like lying down in green pastures. It restores my soul. As the day goes on and we work through all we are having to deal with, new and unforeseen challenges, it is wearying. The Lord is leading us, which means we are not standing still. We are in motion. We are on a journey. But when bedtime comes and we can lie down and rest in God’s arms, it is then that God is able to restore our souls so that we will be ready for the next day in our journey.

            The Lord guides us along right paths for God’s sake. It is not an easy path. Canceling public worship is not an easy path. Engaging modern technology as well as utilizing old fashion technology, like the phone and mailing cards, is not an easy path. Dreaming new ways to do worship while physically separated, doing Easter worship in a dispersed way, how to do that, is not an easy path. But these are the right paths that the shepherd is leading us along. It is right and it is good even though it is hard. It is going to give God glory as we more intentionally stay connected with each other. We take for granted seeing each other on Sunday morning or for Bible Study on Wednesday to catch up with each other. And it isn’t just our church friends. We have co-workers or other social groups that we hang out with. Now we have to be more intentional. Social distancing doesn’t mean social isolation. But how to do that takes intentionality. And I wonder if this challenge to be more intentional will develop in us habits that will carry forward once this crisis comes to an end and we no longer have to practice social distancing. I am curious how the habits we develop now will achieve what God has intended for us all along.  And I have been thinking as we put expressions of worship on the internet, it actually takes our worship out of the building and into the virtual public square. By putting worship online, it makes worship even more accessible for those who choose not to or cannot attend worship when we have it in our buildings. We potentially reach more people with our worship when we do it digitally. To God be the glory. To expand our worship out to the virtual public square is the right path to be on. And God will get the glory.

            There have been times over the past few weeks where I have been inspired and energized, especially when I have been talking with colleagues about new ways to do worship and stay connected with our congregations, and as I have thought about and acted on more intentionally being connected with all of you by methodically working through the church directories and calling you. If you haven’t heard from me yet, be patient. I’m getting to you. Having those brief conversations with you has been great. And then there have been times where I feel overwhelmed, when I feel like I’m not doing enough. The grief of not having public worship on Easter for the first time in my life weighs very heavily on my heart as I know it weighs on so many others. It is a collective weight of grief. It is likened to walking through the valley of the shadow of death. The right path that the shepherd is leading us on includes walking through these valleys. This is not a diversion. The feeling of overwhelm and of not being able to do enough is not an experience of wandering off the right path. It is part of the journey that we are being led through. Acknowledging that those moments of walking through the valley with Jesus who is leading us through it helps in resisting fear. Why be afraid when it is God that is leading us into and through that valley? The valley of shadow is part of the journey that God is leading us through. God is with us. God makes a way for us through those shadowy, heavy, fearful moments. God is leading us through this part of the journey where worshipping on Easter will be different. There is no need to be afraid because God is leading us through this.

            “You spread a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” What are the enemies that we are facing? The virus, obviously. But also we face anxiety, the debilitation of uncertainty, the weariness of dealing with the disruptions, the tediousness of listening to people cast blame and be critical of the response to the pandemic, the ambient noise of panic, all these things that sap our energy, that distract us from focusing on and trusting the lead of the Spirit, that take our minds off of what we can be grateful for, that twists our thinking and feeling about the situation we are in that leads to actions that are not helpful. These are the enemies we face. And we face them with God. God anoints our heads with oil and fills our cups to overflowing, the psalmist says. In other words, we are God’s children. God cares for us and supports us. God provides all we need. God loves us. I came across this simple method we can use when the anxiety builds. It is the halt method. “H” stands for “hungry.” Are you hungry? When was the last time you ate? “A” stands for “angry.” Are you upset? Do you need to step away for a minute to calm down? “L” stands for “lonely.” Are you feeling isolated? Do you need to reach out and call a friend? “T” stands for “tired.” Do you need to take a break? Can you make time for a nap? I commend the halt method. When the anxiety builds, we can also use our imaginations. Imagine your head being anointed with oil by God. Sometimes in church we are invited to come forward to be anointed with oil by the sign of the cross on our foreheads. Imagine God doing that for you. Imagine holding a cup of blessing that is overflowing with the blessings of God. Remember that God is with us. Rest in the presence of God.

            “Goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” Goodness and mercy doesn’t just follow us. A more accurate translation of the Hebrew would be that God’s goodness and mercy pursues us. It chases us down. When we journey day by day, and somehow wander off the right path that God intends to lead us on, it is God, out of goodness and mercy, who pursues us, who chases us down, to guide us back on the right path. This is our assurance in these uncertain times. The Spirit is leading us right now. But we can get distracted. We can be tempted to wander off this path we are on. We can be tempted to just check out. The one who leads us isn’t so far ahead of us that the shepherd doesn’t notice our wandering off. The shepherd chases after us. The shepherd responds to where we are and leads us back on the right path, the path that ultimately leads to “the house of the Lord.” And that means more than leading us back to public worship in our buildings. Yes, a church building is sometimes called the house of the Lord. But the house of the Lord that the psalmist is talking about is the house in which we will dwell forever. He is talking about our heavenly home, the place we will eventually get to because of the promise of eternal life.

            We are on a journey. And this journey has all kinds of twists and turns. And no one saw the coronavirus coming along. Our journey has taken an unexpected turn. But our shepherd is still with us. Our shepherd is caring for us and strengthening our souls. Our shepherd is guiding us on the right path, even when that path takes us through the valley of the shadow of death, even when that path brings us into contact with the enemies that seek to suck the life right out of us. Our shepherd anoints us, blesses us, pursues us with goodness and mercy. Our shepherd is leading us home. We will get there…together.