University Presbyterian Church - Chapel Hill, NC

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12.  Still A Table
Psalm 23
August 22, 2010
Summer Series: OT Texts Every Christian Should Know
John Rogers

So, an OT text that every Christian should know... now really, this iconic text, this text that everyone has heard, probably memorized at some time in your life- the King James Version, of course--- this is a text you are bound to know. Have an opinion about, have an interpretation of, and if anyone were to ever throw it under the bus, well, there would be problems.

This is probably in your top 5 of most well-known, liked, and endeared chapters in the entire Bible and I was wondering whether or not it is a good thing to have the most popular OT text in the summer series? What to do? New angle? Or echo a past critique of this text?

Some possible alternative sermon titles might be:

1)      Shepherd's and Coaches; an analysis of how even the most talented and now forlorn
         golfers could benefit from a swing coach

2)      Martha Stewart; Hey she sets a nice table too...

3)      If we are the sheep and Jesus the Shepherd, whose the boarder collie?

4)      Rods, staffs, royal scepters, and other blunt objects of comfort;

But seriously, I think part of my struggle was that I was trying to put words, theology, exegesis, to a text that I think stands just fine by itself.

I have been thinking about this text for a long time. All summer, really. I was riding my bike through downtown Minneapolis by the Mississippi River in early July and kept returning to the fifth verse of this text and the line; "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." I can't begin to tell you the amount of miles I have had this verse rumbling through my brain- "in the presence of your foes I am preparing a table for you..." pay attention, John... A table, yes, a table-as my enemies look on, God is being the gracious host once again.

What was I supposed to be hearing in all of this? It is a simple passage. It is nice. It is comforting. So where is the deeper meaning? Again and again, "you prepare a table before me..." What table? Who are the enemies? Were they in Minnesota? North Carolina? My past? Was this some vision of God's call? Were the enemies coming? Do I need to invest in some Kevlar? And where is the table? What does it all mean?

Today I would like to address a couple of things in regard to this beloved text. After months of considering what all this means this is my way of putting words to something I am not sure was intended for words. But you are here and I have been scheduled for a long time to give today's message. I hope you will find it helpful and if not may the Spirit be speaking louder than me.

1) That although this is a familiar text and often read during the funeral liturgy, this is a Psalm that speaks to all of life's needs and events; birth, life, death, food, water, and protection- all stages of life.

2) That in all things and at all times (you remember the text, that God neither slumbers or sleeps) our God is caring for God's creation, setting a table so-to-speak, here in our midst, and in the presence of the "foes" that would like to suggest otherwise. 

3) This Psalm addresses the difficulties of transition. Though transitions may be exciting they are also places of anxiety and loneliness.

As we begin to look at Psalm 23 this morning I would like to start with a question; Where is your home? You know, not the one on the envelope, the other one... The place of highest allegiance- And based upon this residence in God's kingdom what language does it call you to embrace and what is that saying to others that look on? When taken to the depths of life's attacks and incredibly difficult transitions that we all face... How quick are we to move to a language of praise, a vernacular of confidence in a God that will shepherd us in all circumstances?

A good place to start might be backing up a chapter to Psalm 22; the beasts are gathering around, David says... It allows us some perspective to how powerful Psalm 23 is given this context.

Oh, my God I cry out by day, but you do not answer...

I am a worm of a man...

Those that seek me mock me...

Bulls surround me...

Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me...

My strength is dried up...

Dogs have surrounded me...

Bands of evil men have encircled me...

Rescue me... from the mouth of the lions from the horns of the wild oxen...

The response at the end of Psalm 22 that carries into the 23^rd Psalm is a voice of praise, trust, and the promise that God is near/ God is our caregiver. Amidst the crushing enemies that surround David, we hear words of deliverance and a profession of faith. This is my God, to the Lord I will raise my voice. Unto Thee O Lord will I lift up my soul. In the midst of all that would destroy me, a shepherd supplies all my need!

Maybe the reason why Psalm 23 is so popular is the fact that it speaks clearly to the type of God we believe in. This God is not some other-world, unknowing, punitive, callous God. David's God, OUR GOD, is a God that tends to God's creation and is committed to our care! The green pastures, the still water, the shepherd's staff... all point to a God that is the reason for our peace. And this is the reason why we reside in this place of faith. Not for the doctrinal correctness or perfect articulation of faith, rather, it is generated from our God's attributes of love and care. A love best seen in Jesus of Nazareth, our Good Shepherd.

God is doing what a shepherd and host is supposed to do; protect, shelter, feed...

I think one of the reasons I have been so struck by verse five, "you spread a table before me as my foes look on," is the role the table has played in my own life. I can't begin to number the tables I have sat around since I have arrived here two years ago. From young families with kids running around and squeezing my hand during a prayer to another family moving their dining room table into the living room because it was winter and it would be nice to have a table next to a warm fireplace.

The table has a way of creating immediate fellowship and attends to our basic needs of food, water, relationship and well, crème brulee, dumplings, and ice cream...

I was thinking about this in a larger sense of provisional care and it seems to me that in the face of all the dangers and broken moments in my own life that yes, even there, yes there still, is a table that speaks to God's provision and protection.

This week I had lunch with Chris Moran, Executive Director of Interfaith Council, and I was thinking about it even more... verse 5- I was listening to Chris tell how many meals are being served at the IFC kitchen, food boxes being given to clients, beds to sleep in, plans for future growth to meet the needs in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and needs that are being met at a time of deep financial, mental, and emotional crisis- yes, there, yes even there, STILL A TABLE.

And our "foes" look on... our thoughts, our memories, the pieces of our life that say there is no table, there is no food, there is no protection, there is no shelter...  These are the bulls, lions, and dogs spoken of in chapter 22. Far more than the physical enemies that would force us to a place of exile, our foes are the ones that rattle around through our own heads. Even there, in this place of personal crisis where the world feels like it is crushing in is a God that serves as a gracious host, yes there, even there, STILL A TABLE.

Very real enemies are bombarding David, ones that made him hide, but ours... how do we name our enemies? The things that wish to harm us and keep us from trusting in a God that has repeatedly proven God will go to the farthest depths to care for what God blessed and called good from the very beginning?

All are pressing in and begging for a reaction... for your white flag... your defeat. Imagine with me, there, in that place where it feels like it is all coming undone, a table. Where your foes look on as a bystander... humm... a table, oil, food.

On this Sunday when the students are finding their way back to campus with classes starting on Tuesday, I am thinking of their new things, this new year, and all that will come with college life this year.

It is overwhelming to think about it all- classes, games, friends, clubs, dorm life, deciding a major, changing a major, and a social life. I do not mean to be a downer, jeesh we just got back you say, but I am sure of it when I say that the load that comes with college life will be as weighty at times as the approaching beasts for David in Psalm 22. This is a big time in your development where you will have to make some of your own choices and begin charting what you want to do with your adult life. 

My encouragement to you is the response we get from David. My pulse starts to race through the cadence of approaching animals that wish to devour, but then, at the climax of when you think the strongest would give in, we hear words of conviction and calm. I am not saying that Psalm 23 will make all your worries and difficulties go away, no, rather, it will appropriate that worry.

Yes, the waters will rise...

Yes, the grass will not always feel that green and soft...

Yes, you will be hungry from time to time...

Yes, it may get a little dark...

But,

And then it hit me- yeah, all the questions about this text, verse 5, transitions, provisions, etc... I heard the gospel speaking loud and clear. Though your earth may shake; though transitions, love, pain, and heartache are part of this life; I still hear words speaking through it all that say; I AM YOUR SHEPHERD. We beg and want for what we think we need when in reality what we are taught in this biblical story is our God loves us, cares for us, feeds us, protects us, and redeems us. What we see in the Good Shepherd that will come later, is our God leaning down and kissing us on the temple and reminding us once again, you are mine and I will care for you.

So where do you live? Where do you reside? This is my house... I live here... "where goodness and love will tend to me every day of my life. I will dwell in this house, the house of the Lord as long as I shall live." This, this house, is my home.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.