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Do you have a favorite picture that gives you comfort every time you look at it? There are so many beautiful pictures of nature that speak to the heart. Many of them produce a calmness within us. It could be a single flower, or a peaceful beach at sunset or perhaps a valley lush with vegetation; there are some pictures that seem to speak directly to our hearts. They bring peace to us.
Today we have one such picture. But this picture doesn't hang on a wall. It is a picture made up of words. We call it the twenty-third psalm. And it gives us a magnificent picture of our relationship to our Lord as one who is caring for us in every possible way.
Every one of us needs the kind of shepherding that the Lord promises to us. Fear, anxiety, everyday worries, and troubles of all shapes and sizes constantly make their way into our lives. We need to know that we are not walking through the darkness alone. The Lord wants us to know that he is always with us, watching over us, caring for us, giving us guidance.
But in order to experience the Lord as our shepherd, we need to open ourselves to the Lord as the sheep accept the care of the shepherd. Most of us have to admit that we don't always bring all of our concerns to the Lord, or if we do, we bring our concerns to the Lord, and then we immediately take them back again. We don't trust the Lord enough to really completely surrender our fears and worries. If we can get to a point where we believe every word of today's psalm, we will have a life that is filled with the gift of peace even though our problems will not magically disappear.
We don't want to be without a guide and a leader in our lives. That's quite a dangerous, and really even foolish, way to live. But so many of us do just that. We live in the illusion that we are in charge of our lives. We need to allow the Lord to be a shepherd to us.
When we are making decisions about which way to go in life, we need to allow ourselves to be led into those decisions which are right for us, instead of just doing what we want to do ourselves. In fact, any decision should first be put into the hands of God in order for us to make that decision in the right spirit.
Like the people at the time of the Exile, we live in a period of transition. Like the crowds who heard Jesus announce that the reign of God had come, we are being told to adjust our worldview, perhaps even to embrace a totally different one.
To whom do we go for guidance? Where do we find the words of eternal life? There are so many voices that claim to have the answer; how do we know which ones to heed? Who accurately interprets the word of God for us? Is it the one who makes us feel good about ourselves, or the one who makes us feel guilty? Should we cling to the teachings of the past or open ourselves to creative new insights? Should we expect that God will rescue us from our troubles, or should we allow it to refine and transform us?
How do we know what to do? Which path should we choose? Who will lead us? There is a danger that we will listen to the voice that gives us the easiest answers, or that we will give up our search and leave ourselves to being like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus is our peace in the midst of our confusion, here are some clues that should help us discern which voices to heed.
Reliable shepherds walk with us in the dark valleys. They are willing to share the dangers through which we pass, even at the risk of their own safety. They do not ditch one segment of the community or one theological perspective against another, scattering the sheep and driving them away. Instead, they work to dismantle the walls that divide us. They speak the word that gathers us together. They reconcile us with God and with each other. They may not give us easy answers, but their primary concern is to lead us to Jesus, the one who is our peace.