Scriptures: Psalm 23; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10
Reflection by Marianne Gould
The 23rd Psalm Through New Lenses
Many of us have probably had the opportunity to experience the wonderful world of optometry. My apologies to any eye doctors who might be in attendance. My first visit to the eye doctor was in 2nd grade as the letters on the chalkboard seemed fuzzy. The chalkboard... that's kind of a clue as to how many years I've been around. In middle school, it wasn't cool to wear glasses, so unless I was at home doing homework, I didn't wear them. Thankfully, the glasses I wore earlier in my life corrected my eyesight and for many years, I was able to function without any help.
But fast forward a few decades and the print was getting smaller and smaller, so I decided to get contacts. If I didn't tell anyone, no one would know I was wearing them! But... then came cataracts... the bane of aging America and the gift to Optometrists! New lenses were actually implanted in my eyes so I was able to navigate life with no glasses...until. As surely as winter will eventually turn to spring, I found that driving at night was not safe, even on familiar roads.
So why am I talking about eyesight? What does that have to do with the biblical text this morning? While the text this morning is from John 10: 1-10, there are many references throughout the Bible that refer to Jesus as the shepherd. In fact, google says that there are over 200 of them.
While I enjoy reading the familiar stories year after year, I am always trying to find new ways to experience the familiar. After all, each of us changes from day to day. And each time we read scripture, we see the text through our own changed lenses... through newly experienced perspectives.
The 23rd Psalm which has been attributed to David, is probably one of the best known Psalms in the Bible. Over the centuries, it has brought comfort to people in exile, people in celebration, and people in death. How could we ever see anything new and different in those words? But what if we looked at the words in that psalm through a lens of those who face poverty, food insecurity, injustice and marginalization?
In The Book of Common Prayer, the psalm's pivot is in the line about paths and "for God's sake." The lines before lead up to that couplet-and the lines after flow from it. .. The pivot reads: He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways/or his name's sake. In the King James version ... that phrase reads: He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
"right pathways" where God guides us on life's journey is very comforting.
With God in charge, we are comforted, assured that there's no way we can go astray. But that really isn't what life is about. There is still much suffering and anxiety on our journey!
I subscribe to a daily meditation published by the Center for Action and Contemplation lead by Father Richard Rohr. A few weeks ago when I was preparing today's message, Diana Butler Bass, author and Christian historian, wrote about the 23rd Psalm from the perspective of Robert Alter, a 90 year old, professor emeritus of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California at Berkeley. His perspective on this psalm opened my eyes and helped me to see this part of scripture through new lenses.
He points out that in scripture, the words right and righteousness are interchangeable with the word justice. In our North American context, we would not think to understand it that way! Very few middle-class church people would ever think of substitutingjustice for either word. Using the word justice in the sentence changes and contrasts sharply with the way we've always understood it.
Alter's version, however, grabs our attention as justice becomes the pivotal word in the psalm. Verses 1-3 reads:
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. In grass meadows
He makes me lie down,
by quiet waters guides me. My life He brings back.
He leads me on pathways of justice
for His name's sake.
The psalmist proclaims, This is the reality of the Lord's government, the beloved community, over and against all oppression and exploitation. Through it, we humans are restored to what was always indeed: My life He brings back: Our lives He brings back.
Looking at Psalm 23 through this lens doesn't mean that we should remain content to lay in grass meadows by quiet waters. We are called and challenged to be citizens of the sacred realm of God... to walk with Jesus on these pathways of justice to make God's reign known throughout the world.
So... just how should we go about practicing this justice in today's world? I would like to suggest that we return to scripture and follow Jesus our shepherd.
Feed the hungry: collect food for those in need. (Salvation Army, manna meals, etc.
Clothe the naked: Support the White E, go through your closet and donate what you no longer wear
Speak up for those being taken advantage of: Challenge racism, ageism, sexism, misogyny, or any "ism" that separates us from neighbor.
Heal the sick: While many of us are not health professionals, we can all support clean water, clean air, promote healthy habits and perhaps drive people to doctor appointments.
Support your non-profits: Work together as a community... to benefit the community.
Not only is Jesus our Good Shepherd, we are encouraged to be a Good Shepherd to others by putting others before self, showing mercy to anyone in need, breaking down barriers, and showing love not just to those who look like us, think like us, or vote like us... but to all those people who just like us... were made in the image of the Divine. Let us follow Jesus on pathways of justice, over and against all oppression and exploitation. Through it we are restored to what God always intended for us. "My life He brings Back: Our lives He brings back.