The Good Shepherd

By Pastor Tracey Leslie
​Scripture:  Psalm 23

​As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I’m currently in the midst of a sermon series focused on how the inherent nature of God is revealed in Jesus.  In the gospel of John, Jesus makes “I am” statements about himself; statements like “I am the bread of life” or “I am the light of the world.”  And all of those statements Jesus makes are true of God in the Old Testament.  The very statement “I am” goes all the way back to God’s self-revelation to Moses at the burning bush when Moses is called by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and into the promised land of Canaan.  Moses asks for God’s name and God says, “I am; I am who I am.”  God is the great “I am” and Jesus proclaims his oneness, his unity, with God the heavenly Father each time he says, “I am…”  So today, in our 9:15 “I am” study group we looked at Jesus’ statement “I am the good shepherd.”  And now here in worship we consider the affirmation of Psalm 23 that, “The Lord is my shepherd.”
 
This Psalm is undoubtedly the best known Old Testament scripture passage.  Nearly everyone knows it and it’s a comfort to us in difficult times.  But it’s a shame that this psalm is rarely thought of beyond the familiar context of funerals because its theme is really one of God’s care for us throughout our lives, or – as the psalmist puts it – “all the days of my life.” 

When I preached two weeks ago on Jesus’ saying “I am the bread of life,” I spoke of how God faithfully meets our needs; of the fact that “bread” is a comprehensive symbol for all the things we need to live.  Likewise, within this psalm, the primary needs of God’s creatures – be they sheep or people – are affirmed as being met by the shepherd; needs like food that is symbolized by “green pastures,” water, safe shelter, guidance for our lives and protection from danger.  Sheep are vulnerable animals; but we human creatures are often more vulnerable than we like to admit or even think about.
 
Yet God’s care for us is reliable, dependable because God cannot help but be who God is; a good shepherd.  One of the most important lines in this psalm is “he leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake”; for his name’s sake.  God preserves and protects our lives with generous, life-sustaining actions because that kind of behavior is fundamental to who God is.  We’ve all seen advertisements where the owner of a company brags about putting his or her name on the product, right?  They’re putting their name on the line.  Well, when God names us as his sheep, his flock, then the way in which God responds to us and engages with us puts God’s name on the line.  God cannot be anything other than who God is:  good, generous, gracious.

But friends, if we belong to God’s flock, then we are called to live in ways that demonstrate our confidence in God’s ability to provide for us and protect us.  This psalm is more than comforting words during times of grief; it must become our affirmation of faith in all times; an affirmation that is meaningless and hollow if we don’t live it out.  Far too often, we profess reliance on God with our lips while we hedge our bets, looking to the things of this world to keep us safe and secure.  As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, there’s nothing wrong with financial planning; but let’s not kid ourselves: the savviest financial planning in the world can’t guarantee our well-being or security.  Just remember 2008 or even this past Friday after the Brexit vote.  So many people live their lives being fearful stingy with others – and even themselves – out of the rationale that, by saving up, it will guarantee their security in the future.  But it doesn’t; it can’t.
 
You know, there is another – very important – dimension to this psalm that we miss because of the limited way in which we have enculturated it, that funeral or pastoral context. 

You see, in Old Testament times, the metaphor of “shepherding” was frequently applied to political leaders, to kings.  As easily as we think “Democrats” when we see the donkey and “Republicans” when we see the elephant, an ancient eastern person would have known that “shepherd” was a symbol for kings.  David, Israel’s greatest king was a shepherd.   

Earthly kings were referred to as “shepherds” and charged with protecting and providing for their subjects in the same way that a shepherd protects and provides for his sheep.  Israel’s kings were to serve as God’s representatives on earth and so their rule was to reflect the reign of God.  Israel was a theocracy.  The kings were referred to as God’s sons.  Psalm 2 is a Coronation Psalm, saying of the king: “You are my son; today I have begotten you.”[i] 
 
Yet most of Israel’s kings fall dreadfully short of God’s standards.  They don’t treat the people like God treats us.  Some were corrupt and self-serving.  They didn’t encourage the people to trust in God because they lacked that trust themselves.  They were fearful; they looked out for number 1.  They tried to hedge their bets by encouraging the people to worship other gods – the more the better, cover your bases.  Most of the kings of Israel are a long way from being good shepherds.  They fail to trust in God and they put their own success, security and ease above the needs of their people.  But that’s something that God will not tolerate.   
 
In fact, through the prophet Ezekiel, God condemns the “shepherds” or kings who have been leading Israel.  It is their sinful behavior that will bring about the nation’s destruction and downfall.  In chapter 34 of Ezekiel, God says to the prophet:
(Ezek 34:2-5 NRSV)  Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them … Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? {3} You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. {4} You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.
 
Because Israel’s leaders have abused their sacred trust, God promises to put an end to these greedy, self-serving kings.  And God, himself, will take over as King, or shepherd, of his people. 
 
The prophet continues:
(Ezek 34:10-16 NRSV)  Thus says the Lord GOD, I  will demand my sheep at their hands, … I will feed them with good pasture, … I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. {16} I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak...


And that sounds – does it not – a bit like a combining of the 23rd Psalm and Jesus’ teaching to his disciples when he says “I am the Good Shepherd.”  In fact, those words are descriptive of the ministry of Jesus.  Jesus heals the sick; he befriends those that society pushes to the margins.  He feeds the hungry multitude with just five loaves of bread and two fish.  Jesus seeks the least, the last and the lost and draws them into the fold.
 
Jesus, like God the heavenly Father, is a shepherd whose authority and power are used to supply our needs; to secure our well-being.  As the psalmist affirms because God is his shepherd, he has no want or need. 
 
Friends, when we recite aloud the 23rd psalm it is more than a comforting piece of poetry; it is a profession of our faith.  And it’s even more than a profession of faith; it is also a political statement; a revolutionary statement.  It proclaims that only God – not any worldly institution or authority – can truly function as our shepherd.  It rejects the way that “security” is brokered and managed and manipulated in the world.
 
This psalm, this profession of faith, this political manifesto, affirms that we will not live enslaved by fear and anxiety because our Good Shepherd provides reliable security.  Our trust in the Good Shepherd liberates us to share generously with others because not only is God our shepherd, he is also a great banquet host whose table is never empty (As the psalmist says, “thou preparest a table before me… my cup overflows”).  If God is our shepherd king, then we can trust that, within his kingdom, there is plenty and we need not grasp and clutch greedily to secure ourselves.  If God is our shepherd king, we should not play both ends against the middle or hedge our beats by putting our trust in someone or something else, be it money, worldly success or reputation, because that is nothing short of heresy and treason against our shepherd and king.  If God is our shepherd king, we gladly submit our lives to his reign and his authority. 
 
Brothers and sisters, the 23rd psalm is more than a hymn of comfort.  It is our declaration of faith and a revolutionary statement of how we will live in the world and with the world.   
 
Friends, it is important for us to acknowledge the original context and meaning of this Psalm because it has implications for how we live in the world today.  It’s important for us to remember the nature of godly leadership and what it looks like because we now live in a culture, in a world, in which leadership looks more and more like those Old Testament kings.  We are living in a culture of fear that perceives force and violence, manipulation and fear-mongering as effective and acceptable leadership traits.  But that is in contradiction of the message of this psalm.  If we believe this book, then that’s not a lifestyle option for us.
 
You know, sheep were vulnerable animals and good shepherds were responsive to their vulnerability.  Good shepherds led with gentleness.  Jesus spoke often of gentleness.  Using another agrarian image, Jesus said, (Matthew 11:29) “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Jesus spoke the beatitude, “Blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth.”  In John’s gospel, when Jesus proclaims himself the Good Shepherd, he fulfills God’s hopes for those Old Testament kings.  He willingly sacrifices himself for the good of his flock, saying “I lay down my life for the sheep.”  And finally, in a society where we’ve begun to circle the wagons and take a defensive posture toward those who are not like us… Well, Jesus says, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.  I must bring them also…”
 
Friends: another powerful phrase in this psalm gets lost in translation.  We say, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”; but that is a poor translation because the word used there for “follow” is more accurately translated as “pursue”: “surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life.”  Friends: that is the character of our Good Shepherd.  In our world, people are usually pursued with malevolent intent: armies pursue other armies to do battle against them; the FBI pursues dangerous fugitives to capture and confine them.  But God pursues us with goodness and mercy.  Can you imagine what it might be like to live in a world where we pursued one another with goodness and mercy? 
 
Folks, I’m not naïve; I know we live in a sinful world and I know there are instances and circumstances when force and violence must be used.  But we are sadly becoming a world in which force, aggression, manipulation and violence are not our last resort; they are quickly becoming our first response. 
 
Now, we cannot single-handedly fix the world’s problems.  But, as our own Peggy Reen often reminds us, we can decide if we will be part of the solution or part of the problem.  Far more often than we recognize – I admit, more often than I am conscious of – we engage in discussions with people that promote fear and we just roll with the tide of the conversation.  But rhetoric is powerful; it ultimately shapes behavior and we can choose to change our rhetoric and change behavior.  We can choose to become people whose speech and actions promotes gentleness, compassion and understanding. 
 
And while we don’t always think of ourselves as leaders, most of us have some context in which we exercise authority.  If we’re parents, we exercise authority with our children.  If we supervise someone at work, we are in leadership.  If we chair a committee, that is a position of authority.  And within the contexts of those relationships, we get to decide whether our leadership will reflect the ways of the world that demand our way and manipulate or the leadership of our Shepherd that is humble and gentle.
 
So what will it be?  Will we seek to protect the vulnerable?  Will we sacrifice for the good of others?  Will we reach out and extend a welcome to outsiders?  Will we encourage trust or will we promote fear?
 
I hope before you leave here this morning… maybe during the offertory, that you’ll think about some of the situations, circumstances, and relationships you find yourself in right now and I hope you can think of at least one where you recognize that fear or suspicion or intimidation or even aggression is exercising an influence.  And I hope you’ll say a prayer and determine, with the leading of God’s Spirit, a change you can make – something different you can do or say – to change the situation: to transform fear into compassion; to change suspicion into curiosity; to overcome intimidation and aggression with gentleness and humility… because when we do that we, ultimately, show love for our Shepherd.

[i] Psalm 2:7. NRSV.