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Psalm 23

We dont normally hear sermons on

the Psalms, even though they are our
favorite texts of the Bible for most
people. And the 23rd psalm is the most
beloved of the Psalms and is, perhaps,
the most loved chapter in the entire
Bible. Many of us grew up memorizing
psalm 23, and reciting it proudly in
Sunday school. But what is so special
about this psalm? What is the
significance of psalm 23 among the

popular Christians? This psalm is about

God being the care taker, as the
shepherd. When the psalmist says, The
Lord is my shepherd. Intuitively, all of
us know that shepherds are good, kind
and gentle. Even in a technological
society and having never met a shepherd
face to face, we all know that shepherds
are gentle and kind.
Even the children know that, as was
demonstrated in the childrens sermon.
All the children had never met a
shepherd, but as a group, they
unanimously and spontaneously said

that shepherds were good, kind and

gentle. The children have been taught
that by Bible stories. They have been
taught in Bible pictures. They have seen
the picture of Jesus, the good shepherd,
caressing a lamb in his arms.
But do you have an idea of a shepherd in
real life? For the most kids here,
perhaps, shepherd is an alien image. I
wonder if they have seen any shepherd
in their life?
I am really glad to preach on this text,
because for the first time, I gave time to

think about the commitment and

sacrifices that the shepherds makes in
their lives, even though I saw them
almost every day in my child hood. I
grew up seeing the shepherds take the
sheep to the fields early in the morning
by 6.00am, as the sun rises and they
come back in the afternoon as sunsets. A
shepherd stays alone in fields all day
long guarding, feeding and caring for
sheep, with no one to talk to, with no
social life.
Yes, shepherd and sheep have a great
relationship, a relationship between two

different species, but extremely bonding

and affectionate. The one and only job
of a shepherd is to take care of the flock,
to take them away from the main town,
so they get the best natural food in the
outskirts of a town, so they can relax, so
they can be themselves, without being
tied in a small barn.
What a sacrifice from the part of
shepherd?
As parents, we all have experience of
taking our children to park, or some play
place, may be chuck-e-cheese, where
children could be childrenbut how

long would we entertain them there? An

hour, two hours! By the end of the
second hour we all know how it feels
Psalmist chooses an image to God,
understanding his own relationship with
Godit speaks about the total
dependence of sheep on the Shepherd.
The well being of sheep completely in
hands of the shepherd. We dont see
such dependency between a parent and
child, because a child at some point
becomes independent of parents. Parents
let alone their children to take care of
themselvesbut job of a shepherd is not

such. Sheep continuously need their

shepherd to care for them. It is a
relationship that cannot be ruptured.
Understanding this relationship with
God, at first, the psalmist gives his
witness about GodHe says, The Lord
is my shepherd, I shall not want. When
there is a shepherd around, a sheep will
never lack anything. It is an affirmation
of complete care. If God could be that to
each and every one of us, who will want
to say no to this offer.
The psalmist goes on to explain as to
what he means by calling God, The

shepherd. The psalmist says, He makes

me lie down in green pastures, and leads
me beside still waters. He revives my
soul, and guides me along right
pathways for his Name's sake.
In first three verses the psalmist speaks
about God in third person, and 4,5,& 6
verses the psalmist turns to God, speaks
in second personHe says, though I
walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are
with me; your rod and your staff, they
comfort me; You spread a table before
me in the presence of those who trouble

me.
In the second half of the psalm, not only
that the psalmist begins to enter into
direct conversation with God, but also
changes the mood. He begins the psalm
by talking about Lying on green
pastures, and in the second half he
speaks about the shadow of death. This
psalm being as much as the gospel of
promise, it is also a very realistic one.
One the one hand the psalmist says you
make me lie down in green pastures
and almost immediately he goes into
saying, Though I walk through the

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valley of the shadow of death, I shall

fear no evil.
Both extreme situations. Yes, a lot of
times we assume that if we are
Christians or if we are into prayer, God,
church and so on everything is going to
be OK. We will be free from all misery,
that we will be happy and prosperous all
our life. We all know that it is a myth.
The psalmist is once again reminding us
that we will face life as it isbut the
good news is that even in the shadow of
death there is a comforting hand that is
holding youand that makes all the

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difference.
The valley of shadow of death, is not
necessarily a death bed, but could be
number of things. We may take our first
steps into the valley because of illness,
our own or that of one we lovea
beloved partner or spouse, a child, a
grandchild, or a parent. We may pass
into the valley because of fear,
insecurity, distrust and so on. The deep
darkness may come upon us when our
children make choices that baffle us.
Even in the most blessed life, even when
we spend the majority of our days in the

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sunlight looking down upon dazzling

vistas, each of us walks into that valley
sooner or later. We all know it is after
all, realistic. In India, for New Years
day, according to the Indian calendar,
there is a tradition people eat something
that is similar to Hummus, that we call it
chutney. The ingredients are Sugar, that
is sweet, Neem flower, that tastes bitter,
tamarind, that tastes sour, pepper, that is
spicy hot, salt for salt and a raw Mango
for the taste of pungent, a combination
of all 6 tastes that exist, symbolizing
that, no matter what we are or who we
are, we will face all facets of life, and

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that the life is combination of all of

these elements.
There was a disaster in in small town,
people were gathered for fund raiser.
Best artistes offered their talents. The
community being a faith community
asked him to recite psalm 23, their
favorite psalm.

I know the psalm but this pastor here

knows the shephered

It is to remind to be prepared for both

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good and bad. Experiences of high and

low not only happens in the life of
individuals but also in communities, in
life of the church. Just as God is the
shepherd, each one of us are given the
responsibility to care for each other
whether in times of laying in green
pastures or in the times of shadow of
death. It is the relationship that we
maintain that matters ultimately than
whether we have good times or bad
times. And now may God give us the
life of green pastures, and may God
comfort us when we are in the valley of

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darkness. Amen.