August 24, Psalms of Personal Need

Lesson: Psalm 23

Sermon Title: My Shepherd

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INTRODUCTION:

I.                    I read about a saying on a t-shirt that reads:

"Did you ever get the feeling that life is a bird and you're a parked car?"

II.                   Maybe this conclusion is illustrated by the story of the man who limped into the hospital to have his foot x-rayed.

Foot Pill[1]

A man limped into a hospital to have his foot X-rayed, and was asked to wait for the results. Some time later an orderly appeared and handed the man a large pill.

Just then a mother with a small child in need of immediate attention entered. After the orderly disappeared with the new patient, the man hobbled over to get a glass of water, swallow the pill, and sat down to wait. Some time later the orderly reappeared carrying a bucket of water.

“Okay,” he said, “Let’s drop the pill in this bucket and soak your foot for a while.”

A.                The orderly did not tell the man what to do with the pill.

B.                The man did not know what the pill was for.

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MAIN BODY

III.                To often we don’t know what the 23rd Psalm is for.

When Peter Hawkins, a professor at Boston University, asked the students in his entry-level course on the Bible is they had ever heard of the 23rd Psalm, about five hands went up. After he had recited the text, almost everyone recognized parts of it, even if they did not know the source. For one student it was a line in rock group Pink Floyd’s “Sheep,” for another a reference in rapper Coolio’s “Gansta’s Paradise.” A third student claimed to recognize a refrain in the psalm from Pulp FictionCbut there the text is actually from Ezekiel 25.17. “My students know their movies and their lyrics but not the biblical source of >the valley of the shadow of death,’” says Hawkins. “They were shocked when I revealed it.”[2]

IV.                We hold in our hands One of the most important Psalms of Personal Need.

A.                It is too sad that this psalm has become so attached to funerals, especially internments.

B.                It has a vast amount of assistance to offer us.

V.                  Okay, so what does it offer us?

A.                Got the blues?

1.                   You know the blues.[3]

The singer closes his eyes, tilts his head back, and, as his right foot taps on the worn wooden floor of the No Parking recording studio in Rosendale, New York (a stone's throw away from Woodstock),

2.                  Deaf Lemon Meringue belts out the blues in a deep voice laced with a slight Irish brogue.

a.                   But Deaf Lemon (known by day as Paul Duffy, 47) isn't singing about the troubles back in his native Dublin, or about rain that won't stop falling, or even about some woman who done him wrong.

b.                  He's singing about life in the new world of work.

c.                   Specifically, he's singing the Over-committed Blues:

My calendar's full,
My Day-Timer's frayed,
My voice mail's overloaded,
I'm way underpaid.
Got tons overdue,
Several deadlines to meet,
The only things working
Are my two left feet.
I'm a-fumblin' - got those over-committed blues.
If you see me at the water cooler,
please don't stop and schmooze.

3.                  The corporate blues exist.

4.                  And if those feelings aren't externalized, they infect people with doubt, cynicism and negativity - which makes it harder for people to excel.

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B.                Got the anxieties?

Erma Bombeck lets a little boy named Donald express his views of education:

"My name is Donald, and I don't know anything. I have new underwear, a loose tooth, and I didn't sleep last night because I'm worried. What if a bell rings and a man yells, 'Where do you belong?' and I don't know? What if the trays in the cafeteria are too tall for me to reach? What if my loose tooth comes out when we have our heads down and are supposed to be quiet? Am I supposed to bleed quietly? What if I splash water on my name tag and my name disappears and no one knows who I am?"

1.                   We are not too much different than Donald.

2.                  We have our litany of anxious concerns.

3.                  More often we carry our anxieties around with us because we are afraid of what God will do to us if we let God have them.

A good illustration of this is the old story, retold by Simon Tugwell, of the two Japanese monks. Travelling a muddy road, a downpour only added to the difficulty of walking. Around a bend in the road, they met a lovely girl in flowing silk kimono, unable to cross the intersection. One monk, Tanzan, immediately took the girl in his arms and carried her through the mud and onto more secure ground.

The monks continued their hike, but the other monk, Ekido, spoke not a word until they reached their temple lodging that night. Then he restrained himself no longer: "We monks never go near females," he challenged Tanzan, "most particularly not young and pretty ones." Ekido had to say more: "It is dangerous, it is tempting fate. Why did you do it?"

"I left the girl there," replied Tanzan in a quiet spirit. "Are you still carrying her?"

C.                Got the despairs?[4]

The man whispered, “God, speak to me.”
And a meadowlark sang. But the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, “God, speak to me!”
Thunder rolled across the sky. But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you.”
A star shone brightly. But he noticed it not.
And the man shouted, “God, show me a miracle.”
And a life was born. But the man was unaware.
So, the man cried out in despair, “Touch me, God, and let me know that you are here!”
Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

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D.               Got the troubles?

A New Yorker cartoon shows a preacher standing in a pulpit and saying: "Having completed the formation of the earth, on the seventh day the Lord rested. Then, on the eighth day, the Lord said, 'Let there be problems.' And there were problems."[5]

1.                   There is nothing too unique about the troubles of John Crabtree.[6]

John Crabtree is an Army veteran who had been receiving benefits from the government. Evidently he had been wounded in Vietnam and was now on permanent disability. One day, out of the blue, he received an official notification from the government of his own death. Needless to say, this was quite a shock!

Mr. Crabtree wrote the government a letter stating that he was indeed very much alive and would like to continue receiving his benefits. The letter did no good. He then tried calling the government. (Have you ever tried to call the government? This required the patience of Job and the persistence of Noah!) The phone calls didn't change the situation either. Finally, as a last resort, the veteran contacted a local television station, which ran a human-interest story about his situation.

During the interview, the reporter asked him, How do you feel about this whole ordeal? The veteran chuckled and said, Well, I feel a little frustrated by it. After all, have you ever tried to prove that you're alive?

2.                  That's a pretty good question for all of us.

a.                   How would you prove that you are alive?

b.                  Really, genuinely, deep, down alive?

3.                  Too often we echo the words of Pam Thum in her song, Life is Hard.

Life Is Hard (God Is Good)

by Pam Thum

Here are the first verse and chorus of "Life Is Hard":

You turn the key and close the door behind you.
Drop your bags on the floor.
You reach for the light but there's a darkness deep inside
And you can't take it anymore.

'Cause sometimes living takes the life out of you and
Sometimes living is all you can do.

Life is hard.
The world is cold.
We're barely young and then we're old.
But every falling tear is always understood.
Life is hard, but God is good.

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E.                Got the heartaches?

1.                   Billy Holiday sang a song Good Morning Heartache, written by Irene Higginbotham / Ervin Drake / Dan Fisher

Good morning heartache
You old gloomy sight
Good morning heartache
Thought we said goodbye last night
I turned and tossed until it seems you have gone
But here you are with the dawn
Wish I forget you, but you’re here to stay
It seems I met you
When my love went away
Now everyday I stop I’m saying to you
Good morning heartache what’s new

Stop haunting me now
Cant shake you no how
Just leave me alone
I’ve got those Monday blues
Straight to Sunday blues
Good morning heartache
Here we go again
Good morning heartache
You’re the one
Who knows me well
Might as well get use to you hanging around
Good morning heartache
Sit down

VI.                There is an uncomplicated way of dealing with all of the above.

A.                We turn to the 23rd Psalm and recognize the Lord as our shepherd.

1.                   Jesus is the good Shepherd.

2.                  This is what he says in John 10.

11”I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs awayCand the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep, (John 10:11-15, NRSVA).

B.                What does Jesus provide?

1.                   What kind of grass are you eating?

a.                   Grass, that’s a euphemism of marijuana.

b.                  A hallucinogen.

c.                   The whole world is an hallucinogen.

d.                  It promises much, but delivers little.

e.                   Jesus offers green, healthy grass, in abundance that will feed both body and soul.

2.                  What kind of water are you drinking?

a.                   What kinds and amounts of contaminants are in our drinking water?

b.                  Jesus provides still waters or as it might be translated, waters of rest.

3.                  Jesus restores our souls, or life.

a.                   R. Scott Colglazier asks:

(1)              When was the last time you had an alive moment?

(2)              Not the last time you took a breath or had your heart beat inside your chest, but the last time you felt yourself alive to your living, alive to your loving, deeply present with the gift of life itself?

b.                  With Jesus you can genuinely be and feel alive.

C.                Whose rod and staff comforts you?

1.                   The staff that is held over the sheep as they enter the fold.

2.                  The staff that is gently placed on the back of a sheep who has been hurt to stop the sheep.

3.                  The gentle hands of the shepherd who takes the healing balm and anoints the sheep so that the scratches and bruises may be quickly healed.

D.               What happens when you contemplate walking through the dark valley?

1.                   The Funeral Blues, were written by W. H. Auden

2.                  "Funeral Blues" was the poem read by Matthew (John Hannah) at the funeral of his partner Gareth (Simon Callow) in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

3.                  Yea though I walk through the darkest valley, the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.

4.                  Jesus walked this lonely vale before us.

5.                  He will walk with us.

6.                  We may walk alone, but we are not lonely.

E.                Finally, at whose table are you eating?

1.                   Jesus prepares for us a table in the presence of our enemies.

2.                  Our cup overflows.

VII.              “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long,” (Psalm 23:6, NRSVA).

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CONCLUSION:

VIII.          Antoinette Wilson has written a bit of verse Wit's End Corner that goes like this

Are you standing at "Wits End Corner",
Christian, with troubled brow?

Are you thinking of what is before you,
And all your bearing now?

Does all the world seem against you,
And you in the battle alone?

Remember-at "Wits End Corner,
"Is just where God's power is shown.

Are you standing at "Wits End Corner",
Blinded with wearing pain,

Feeling you can not endure it,
You cannot bear the strain,

Bruised through the constant suffering,
Dizzy, and dazed, and numb?

Remember at "Wits End Corner"
Is where Jesus loves to come.

Are you standing at "Wits End Corner",
Your work before you spread,

All lying begun, unfinished,
And pressing on heart and head,

Longing for strength to do it,
Stretching out trembling hands?

Remember - at "Wits End Corner,
The burden bearer stands.

Are you standing at "Wits End Corner?
Then you're just in the very spot,

To learn the wondrous resources
Of Him who faileth not:

No doubt to a brighter pathway
Your footsteps will soon be moved,

But only at "Wits End Corner"
Is the "God who is able" proved.

IX.                Well, does this take care of all our concerns and fulfill all our needs.

A.                Of course it does.

B.                When the light begins to fade and fear attempts to break in, read the 23rd Psalm and contemplate all comforts and blessings that are given to us by a loving heavenly Father, and a generous good Shepherd.

Amen.

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[1]Pastor Tim [posts”cybersaltlists.org]

[2]Reflections, Spring. Quoted in Christianity Century, August 26, 2008, p. 8-9.

[3]Anna Muoio, The change-agent blues, Fast Company, May 2000, 46.

[4]--Anonymous.

[5]As cited in Martin Marty Context (15 January 1994), 6.

[6]R. Scott Colglazier, Finding a Faith That Makes Sense(St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1996), 116-117.