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| “Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need.” Hold on a minute! Did I just say "everything"? What does it mean to have “everything that I need? Would “everything I need” ever be enough? |
| We’ll look for insight in God’s word, specifically in the 23rd Psalm. You’re listening to Shepherd’s Notebook from Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church near Smithfield, Nebraska. I’m Pastor Cathi Braasch.
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| I’m guessing that the 23rd psalm, with its portrayal of the Lord as loving and caring shepherd, gets heard more often at funerals than any other single setting outside of Sunday morning. Nevertheless, the 23rd psalm is as much about living as it is about dying. |
| I enjoy Eugene Peterson’s rendering of the 23rd psalm in The Message edition of the Bible: God, my Shepherd! I don't need a thing. |
| Like any other very familiar expression of faith, such as the Lord’s Prayer, the 23rd psalm is something that might easily be taken for granted or just set aside for some future use. Yet the psalm is written almost entirely in present-tense terms. So, if you’ve already told family and friends that you want this psalm read or sung at your funeral, please don’t wait until then to “live in” this most beautiful, pastoral of psalms. Hear the echoes of the Hebrew children, freed from slavery in Egypt, provided with enough to sustain them for 40 years in the desert, and, yes, even grumbling about all that manna. Hear them longing for the so-called good-old-days under slavery. Hear how this psalm distinguishes between our childish, selfish wants and our truest, deepest needs. Let’s pray: Shepherd us, O God, that we may give thanks for your provision and always distinguish between wants and needs. In Jesus’ name, Amen. |
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Shepherd’s Notebook for Tuesday, April 27, 2010
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