Sunday, April 29, 2007, 07:30 AM - Sermon
Psalm 23 C Easter 4
The darkest valley, or the valley of the shadow of death in some translations, sounds like a good place to be fearful. How can one be fearless in such a situation? Fearlessness is not the absence of danger, but the presence of faith. The old story is that Fear knocked at the door, Faith answered and no one was there.
How do we get there?
Self-Differentiated
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. First decide, choose who is your shepherd, who or what moves you through life? Where is your trust placed? Is your job your shepherd? Is your family your shepherd or your spouse? Another way to look at this is who do you belong to? The other verses expands on these with verbs of making, leading, and restoring. What is your mission in life? Is your chief end as the Westminster Shorter Catechism says “to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”?
One way not to be fearful, is to know who your shepherd is. Or in secular terms what your life goals are, what your direction and purpose is. If there is nothing you want, it is easy to be discouraged, easy to be fearful. Our Psalmist is not fearful for he knows if is following the way the Lord is leading him and that is the most important thing he can be doing, so he is able to be courageous.
Robert Heifetz says “Followers want comfort, stability, and solutions from their leaders, but that's babysitting. Real leaders ask hard questions and knock people out of their comfort zones. Then they mange the resulting distress.” Some what a Lord that serves them. They want to be Jesus' shepherd. A Jesus that answers prayers and responds to us like a good butler, “Do you want milk or honey with your tea?” when from reading this Psalm he is one who leads, who makes us move. Sometimes I point out to people in grief that the promise here is that the Lord is with us as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, not the Lord who lets us get over it quickly, or avoid dark times completely. We have to move through it the darkness and only looking back can we see that the Lord was with us and that goodness and mercy followed us all our life long.
As our society tries to herd us by using fears, marketing, quick-fixes, patriotism and media campaigns we will find life and calmness by staking out our individuality and integrity. Saying, with Joshua, non-anxiously without judgment or malice, “then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” The Lord is my shepherd, I choose to follow the Lord's way. Taking a stand, not picking a fight, will help you find the still waters and get you through the dark valleys.
Boundaries
The rod and the staff are not comfort tools. Jesus does not come with a pillow for our head and a cushion for our backside. The rod and the staff were not so subtle tools to grab sheep that wandered from the way of the shepherd. Boundaries. No teen will admit it, but it is a comfort to have boundaries, fences. When they don't have any, they seek to find some by pushing until a limit is reached. The struggle to find how to be separate while remaining connected begins in childhood and should be a task throughout our life.
There are less social forces than before to keep boundaries, so it is even more important for each person to know where they end and others begin. It is often difficult to say “I” when others are demanding you say “We” It is difficult not to get brought into other people's emotional muck and mire, yet still be connected with them. You will be told that you are cold and uncaring. Jesus got the same criticism, in Matthew 11:17, “ 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.'”
You can do anything you want, is a lie told by well-meaning parents, not a part of the faith experience. We have limits and boundaries, without them we become wanders without purpose, easy prey for the wolves that lurk looking for those who have wandered from the path.
Non-anxious Presence
The late rabbi Edwin Friedman popularized the idea of a leader being a “non-anxious presence”. Being calm in crisis while be connected to others. How about the image of breaking for dinner in the presence of your enemies? Now this may mean to make them jealous of your having a feast as they stand by watching, but I think it could mean, being so sure of yourself and confident in your way that you can go ahead with lunch plans even though you are surrounded by enemies.
Playfulness is one way to be connected yet non-anxious. I know of one pastor who when asked, an earlier generation anxious attack of “Would you like your daughter to marry one?” said, “I don't know, who did you have in mind for her?” He was non-anxious in that situation, but connected. Now be prepared to be labeled as uncaring or non-pastoral because a lot of people believe that caring is getting upset along with people instead of helping them with their upsetness by being calmer than they are. The rescuer of a drowning person isn't helping if she jumps in and sinks with them!
Conclusion
Know where you are going, who you are following, who your shepherd is.
Know your boundaries, what you do and don't do before you are tested; where the Lord's rod and staff are marking what is the safe course for you.
Know how to take care of yourself and your own emotions even under attack, remember no matter how bad the morning, you can look forward to lunch with the Lord.
Advanced permission is given for non-profit, for-prophet use of the above at no charge as long as it is reproduced unedited with notices and copyright intact. Written copies are provided after they are preached as a courtesy for the personal, private, appreciative use of the congregation of Goodyear Heights Presbyterian Church, their families and friends to support the ministry of Goodyear Heights Presbyterian Church and its pastor the Rev. J. Christy Ramsey. Join us Sundays! 8:15 Traditional Worship and 10:15 Blended. Mingle in our Gathering Room between services and take advantage of Christian Education opportunities.
