The Divine Shepherd

Like a shepherd, lead us.  

Psalm 23. NRSV

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

2  He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;

3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths

    for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff—
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.

The daily readings in the Revised Common Lectionary include a reading from the Old Testament, the New Testament and a Psalm. It is the same psalm all week, the same psalm that is assigned for Sunday.  So I have been reading the 23rd Psalm all week.  When I realized some time back that this would be the psalm for Sunday, May 3 I asked Jordan if the vocalists of the Quarantine Qrew (their name for themselves) would be willing to sing it during worship.  So you may look forward to hearing it performed beautifully during our worship on Facebook Live Sunday morning.

Reading this psalm every day all week has been both a blessing and a challenge.  I hear the assurance and hope, but I also know that this is the psalm most often selected as a funeral reading, and that saddens me, as we cannot gather to mourn our loved ones who pass during these days of quarantine.  Part of mourning is sharing in community; our pain, our love of the departed, our stories, our hope for the future.  We share food and hugs and tears.  We cannot come face to face to do any of those things right now.  We mourn that fact - the fact that we are restricted from doing all of the things we are accustomed to doing, from seeing the people we are used to seeing, to going the places we are accustomed to going.  And again, we must mourn alone.  It is painful and difficult, especially as we do not know how long this will go on.

So I come back to the hope and comfort of David’s words.  When the nighttime fears come, I know God is with me.  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I know God is with me.  I know God is my Shepherd, the one who guides me through good times and bad.  I am restored and comforted , my cup overflows with gratitude and hope.  And my fears are eased.

Divine Shepherd, we offer our love and gratitude to you this day for the blessings we receive.  Guide us through this time of uncertainty and sorrow, this dark valley, so that we may live in your house forever.  Amen.