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the valley of the sun
Who needs a shepherd?
"He restores my soul..."
This is the week when many churches read the Twenty-third Psalm. You probably know it:
It's famous. You can hear it quoted in movies or books. It's part of popular culture; you can listen to an NPR radio show discussing the power of the psalm in people's lives. You can read about it in wikipedia. It's funny - it's so familiar, it's easy to forget how beautiful it is. And yet, for centuries, people seeking comfort have turned to these words to remember God's mercy and to feel God's presence.
It's little wonder. Which one of us doesn't need a shepherd on some days? Someone to care for us, to love us, to protect us. Who wouldn't want such a God?
And yet, some people might say that this psalm captures part of what's wrong with the whole idea of religion in the first place - that people use the idea of God to feel safe, instead of dealing with the world. We hide behind the idea of God (some might say) because we're fearful, or lonely, or because we want to be in denial about the realities that surround us. Grow up, they might say: the human race doesn't have a shepherd. If we did, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in. Better instead to give up your illusions, and face up to things... use your brain, don't act as a sheep just because you wish you had a shepherd.
What do we say to that?
I don't doubt that people can hide behind the idea of God. I have met people in church who seem to think of God as a sort of personal fairy godmother - always there with a magical solution to any problem that comes up, ready to grant a wish and get rid of those messy details that we'd rather not deal with.
But I don't think that's the sort of faith that God calls us to. The psalm reminds us - we can't escape the dark valleys; no one will walk through them for us. Religion doesn't make everything okay. When I hear Christians promise such things, I am troubled: surely our world is not a place where God has made everything okay. But we're not alone.
And that's the whole point. Our faith doesn't let us retreat from the world, or our fears, or the suffering and grief that come with life. But by God's grace, we can meet those things and so much more with courage, with hope, with trust, and even with a sense of humor. We can find God's presence with us in the most difficult of places, and know that life will have the last word.
Life will not always be good or merciful to us. Religion that pretends to protect us from bad things is a false religion. But God's goodness and mercy are always with us, and that is good news, good news that gives us a reason to get up in the morning. And that's what the psalm is all about - God is there in the midst of all things, though we'll still have to face them. Thanks be to God.
Are you ever tempted to hide behind your faith? How can your faith lead you out into the world with courage and with hope?
-from the Twenty-third Psalm
This is the week when many churches read the Twenty-third Psalm. You probably know it:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 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.
It's famous. You can hear it quoted in movies or books. It's part of popular culture; you can listen to an NPR radio show discussing the power of the psalm in people's lives. You can read about it in wikipedia. It's funny - it's so familiar, it's easy to forget how beautiful it is. And yet, for centuries, people seeking comfort have turned to these words to remember God's mercy and to feel God's presence.
It's little wonder. Which one of us doesn't need a shepherd on some days? Someone to care for us, to love us, to protect us. Who wouldn't want such a God?
And yet, some people might say that this psalm captures part of what's wrong with the whole idea of religion in the first place - that people use the idea of God to feel safe, instead of dealing with the world. We hide behind the idea of God (some might say) because we're fearful, or lonely, or because we want to be in denial about the realities that surround us. Grow up, they might say: the human race doesn't have a shepherd. If we did, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in. Better instead to give up your illusions, and face up to things... use your brain, don't act as a sheep just because you wish you had a shepherd.
What do we say to that?
I don't doubt that people can hide behind the idea of God. I have met people in church who seem to think of God as a sort of personal fairy godmother - always there with a magical solution to any problem that comes up, ready to grant a wish and get rid of those messy details that we'd rather not deal with.
But I don't think that's the sort of faith that God calls us to. The psalm reminds us - we can't escape the dark valleys; no one will walk through them for us. Religion doesn't make everything okay. When I hear Christians promise such things, I am troubled: surely our world is not a place where God has made everything okay. But we're not alone.
And that's the whole point. Our faith doesn't let us retreat from the world, or our fears, or the suffering and grief that come with life. But by God's grace, we can meet those things and so much more with courage, with hope, with trust, and even with a sense of humor. We can find God's presence with us in the most difficult of places, and know that life will have the last word.
Life will not always be good or merciful to us. Religion that pretends to protect us from bad things is a false religion. But God's goodness and mercy are always with us, and that is good news, good news that gives us a reason to get up in the morning. And that's what the psalm is all about - God is there in the midst of all things, though we'll still have to face them. Thanks be to God.
Are you ever tempted to hide behind your faith? How can your faith lead you out into the world with courage and with hope?
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