Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Pentecost 8 B - Psalm 23

Psalm 23
“The Lord is my shepherd” isn’t limited to a pastoral landscape or an agrarian lifestyle. That may be why a culture specific song speaks to every time and place. The valley of the shadow is not a foreign experience as we all have felt its cold grip about our necks. We have been surrounded by enemies who overturn our tables and drain our cups to the dregs.  Goodness and mercy have fled away and our heads have been anointed with scorn. The psalm is not spoken to those who lie on beds of ease or rejoice as in days of comfort. There is a reason the 23rd psalm follows the psalm 22 cry of dereliction, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” for “the Lord is my shepherd” is the promise that the shadow was never meant to be our dwelling place. Green pastures and still waters await therefore “I shall not want”.

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