Meditations with Pastor Tom (5/1/20)

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." ~ Psalm 23:1    

          I was raised around sheep, and I remember a thing or two about those woolly creatures.  Sheep are basically defenseless and vulnerable.  They are, by nature, timid and easily frightened.  They hate being separated from the flock, and they are not too bright.  In other words, they need a shepherd. 

            Today, Psalm 23 seems particularly apt.   Many of us are feeling vulnerable and frightened and the separation we are experiencing is all too real, and for some, all too painful. But, this psalm reminds us that we can live in peace without anxiety about our world.  We can lie down in grassy pastures and drink from placid waters.  We have a good shepherd.

            We can relax because our shepherd promises us a future.  We can enjoy today because there is always a tomorrow with God.  We can live in the moment because we know this moment in never our last.  This moment is never  our last moment.

            We can relax, too, because all of our anxiety, insecurity, and uncertainty about the future can be put to rest by trusting God and by simply accepting our position as the beloved children of God.  Therefore, with the Lord as our shepherd, there is nothing that matters that we don’t already have within our reach.  In fact, the psalmist knows that he actually has more  than is needed.  The cup overflows with God’s abundance.  We are God’s sheep and that's enough. 

            But the psalmist is also not a Pollyanna idealist.  There are dark valleys and we will all walk through them.  We are walking through a dark valley together right now. But we have this great consolation.  God is always present.  God is always with us and for us and working in our best interests.  Bad things will happen.  We will experience suffering.   But the God of love, compassion, and abundance is always available to us to offer us whatever strength, consolation, or transformation we need in that moment.

            I am reminded of that great Christian hymn, It Is Well With My Soul.  Whatever dark valleys haunt us, we have the sure hope that it is indeed well with our souls – our souls can always be restored.

The Sermon this Sunday

How can Jesus be a gate?