Sunday Homily - March 22, 2020 - Walking Through the Shadow of Death

Christ the Good Shepherd Icon

Lent IV

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Psalm 23

Ephesians 5:8-14

John 9:1-41

I.

"The Lord is my shepherd,
 I shall not be in want."
  [Psalm 23:1]

Psalm 23 is a Psalm that Christians for millennia
 have prayed in response to any number of occasions.

It is probably the most recognizable Psalm in the entire hymn book,
 because, remember, the Psalms are the hymn book of the Bible.

Often when we think of Psalm 23,
 we cannot get away from that first line:
  "The Lord is my shepherd."

This has inspired many a wonderful painting,
 with Jesus Christ being our shepherd,
  and looking after the sheep in a serene field.
   Jesus's clothes are often portrayed as clean,
    the sheep he keeps are white and fluffy.

As much as this serene imagery has meant a lot to me over the years,
 Psalm 23 also has a much deeper, harder, more tragic setting.

It is one of the Psalms that many priests, myself included,
 have said over people who are dying.

I've stood over many who are hours, or even minutes,
 from dying,
  and have said Psalm 23
   as a token of assurance of the love of Jesus as our Good Shepherd.
    We even say a similar thing over the body of the beloved dead
      in our burial rites in the Book of Common Prayer:
       "Acknowledge, O Lord, a sheep of thine own fold, a lamb of thine own flock..."
         [Book of Common Prayer 1979, 483]

It is a Psalm that often is prayed fervently in those last moments,
 where we reach out with literally all we have,
  we cry from the depths of our souls for those who are beloved to us
   to find their way to the heavenly pastures of God
    where sorrow and pain are no more
     but rather there is life everlasting.

It is a Psalm that invokes the serenity of heaven,
 the verdant fields of Jesus's pastureland where he watches over us,
  even as it feels like we are getting swallowed up in the dirt and mud of the grave.

Psalm 23 might be one of the best Psalms we can possibly pray right now.

Why is that?
 Well, take a closer look at the Psalm itself.

II.

"The Lord is my shepherd,
 I shall not be in want."

Verse 1 starts off pretty definitively:

"The Lord is my shepherd."

The opening parallel emphasizes the complete giving over of our wills,
 the confession of our inability to know which way to go or to even take care of ourselves
  without God.
   We have no direction, no wisdom, no righteousness outside of Jesus,
     and we, with the Psalmist, have completely thrown ourselves before him
      and desperately need his leading of our lives.
       We do not know which way to go without him.

"I shall not be in want."

Jesus is our provider,
 such so that any need we have is provided.
  We who are the flock of Christ,
    rich or poor, young or old, sick or well,
     can take ultimate solace in the truth that,
      "whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, 'It is well, it is well with  my soul.'"

"He makes me to lie down in green pastures,
 he leads me beside the still waters."

If anyone has ever kept sheep before,
 you may know that they might be some of the most nervous and easily startled creatures
  on God's green earth.
   Even so much so that I've had one farmer tell me
    that sheep will not lie down unless they know they are completely safe,
     and won't even drink from water unless it is completely still.

We, as sheep that are so often nervous and startled by the many changes and chances of life,
 can only find perfect peace, that peace which passes all understanding,
  in Jesus's loving oversight.
   We are able to actually lie down to rest and drink from the still water,
     because we can only rest in Christ alone.

"He revives my soul,
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake."

How often do we faint when we do not have the hope of Jesus Christ
 alive and within us!
  Our souls cry out so often for God alone, who can revive our souls.

But Jesus doesn't just pick us back up.
 He is our true guide along the right path.
  Again, we don't know the direction we should go.
   But Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,
    and we who have trusted in Jesus now have been given the gift of salvation
     through his sacrificial love in his death and resurrection.

"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."

Jesus, our Good Shepherd,
 leads us through difficult terrain,
  even the valleys that overshadow us with the real threat of death.
   We as sheep know too well the hidden wolves and predators
     that lurk just above the valley walls that close in on us.
      We know too well how close sin, death, and evil lie to us.
        We know too well the threat of any plague, of the Coronavirus,
          or the H1N1 flu virus,
           or SARS,
            and we know almost intuitively how fragile we are.

Yet, Jesus does not bear his staff in vain.
 Jesus, the Good Shepherd,
  is also prepared to fend off predators
   with his crosier in hand and his watchful eye looking out for us.
    That's why we don't fear even when we look death in the face.
     Because Jesus led us this far,
      and he will lead us home.

"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."

As we walk through death's valley,
 so also we will often find ourselves in the midst of enemies that wish us harm.
  And yet even in the middle of them,
   Jesus sets his table,
    breaks bread, blesses wine in the cup,
     and gives us his own self even in spite of being surrounded by those who assault us.

Jesus reaches out to anoint you with healing on your forehead,
 to heal your soul with wholeness that can only come from God.

"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."

And at the end,
 even in spite of death, and our enemies, and the evil that lies so close at hand,
  the goodness and mercy of Jesus will follow us even through the most difficult days.

And even though we be assaulted,
 even so far as to be removed from our Churches that house the holy Sacrament
  of the Presence of Christ,
   we still, in spite of it all, confess that God will lead us back
    that we may dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

That even though we be away from the consecrated and holy places that house Jesus's own presence,
 we still defiantly confess that God will lead us back soon.

III.

Psalm 23 is both a beautiful picture of Jesus's care for each one of us,
 but it is equally a cry from the depths of our souls for him to be with us.

We cry out for God to so direct and lead us
 that we are indeed led into where we should go,
  even if that place is darkened with death close at hand.

We trust in our Good Shepherd,
 so that when we are surrounded by evil and the assaults of the Devil,
  we fear none of those evil things,
   but instead trust that Jesus Christ is leading us the way we must go.

And ultimately, at the last,
 we trust that when we give up our own souls to God,
  that we will be led to the green pastures and still waters
   where we no longer need be anxious nor afraid,
    but instead that we can finally rest and drink from the waters of eternal life.

Psalm 23 isn't a pie-in-the-sky Psalm about nice places.
 Psalm 23 is a cry from the depths of the soul
  that we can't do it without Jesus.

As we go through the uncertain times,
 being away from our church and the Blessed Sacrament,
  being away from each other,
   and with death's dark valley ahead of us,
    pray Psalm 23.

Pray Psalm 23 and then lift up our medical community
 that is working day in and day out to care for those who are sick
  and who are burning the candle at both ends to find a cure for the Corona-virus.

Pray Psalm 23,
 because there are going to be days ahead where you will feel as if you are passing through
  that valley of the shadow of death
   and where you will feel as if enemies are on every side.

Pray Psalm 23,
 because you will be tempted to think that we can find our own direction
  when in fact, if we look close enough,
   we will find that we don't even have an idea what our next step should be.

And pray Psalm 23 for the dying and deceased,
 that they may finally have rest in Jesus's heavenly pasture.

I urge you, friends and neighbors,
 pray Psalm 23 this week.

When you find happiness and joy,
 when you are down and distraught,
  when you are somewhere in between,
   hold on for dear life to Jesus the Good Shepherd.

For the Lord is our shepherd,
 we shall not be in want.
He makes us to lie down in green pastures,
 and leads us beside the still waters.
He revives our souls,
 and leads us in right pathways for His name's sake.
Lo, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
 we will fear no evil,
 for he is with us.
 His rod and staff comfort us.
He spreads His table before us in the presence of our enemies,
 he anoints our head with oil.
  Our Cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives,
 and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.