University Presbyterian Church - Chapel Hill, NC

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This is the season I just accept the fact that I will not see well. As much as I enjoy all the beautiful flowers, blooming azaleas at Augusta National, and pink dogwoods, I know it comes at a scratchy price. I find myself putting more and more drops in my eyes to make it bearable. For a short while after those drops I can see rather clearly and the world seems right again. No more rubbing, no more irritation, just a glimpse at spring’s tapestry.

There are times in all our lives when our theological lens gets a little gunked up as well. It feels like we cannot see clearly and we struggle for an answer that rises out of our faith in a risen Lord.

I have felt this way ever since I returned from Haiti a couple of weeks ago. I look at the world, I look at people, I look at a ministry, I look at all the aspects of my life, and I want to put eye drops in in order to make it clear again. But no mater the elixir, I just can’t seem to see the world and others the same way. Maybe that was God’s purpose- to help me find a new lens--- my journey from an empty tomb this year was one that began on top of the roof at a boys home in Port au Prince.

St. Joseph’s Home for Boys- a home for 20 boys who were orphaned or abandoned by their families; all of whom spent a portion of their lives on the street before coming to St. Joseph’s.

Michael Geilenfeld- Founder and Executive Director, St. Joseph Family—serves very much as an earthly shepherd--- Resurrection Dance Theatre; danced to the song, “Change In My Life” by Billy Straus that was in the movie, “Leap of Faith.” It reminded me of Steve Martin and his character Jonas Nightingale where he was the recipient of a miracle that changed his lens. The chorus is;

I've been lonely, I've been cheated, I've been misunderstood;
I've been washed up, I've been put down, and told I'm no good.
But with you I belong, 'cause you helped me be strong.
There's a change in my life since you came along.

And as they danced I knew what was meant to be communicated in this song, but I could not help but also think that these boys were thinking about Michael and his giving them new life.

What I learned that night as I whipped away the tears was the power of seeing life in a new way despite anyone’s negligence. The faith of these young men taught me the real power of Christ’s resurrection and the significance of people that are called to give their life for the wellness of others.

 The concept of shepherd is a bit foreign to most of us. I would feel safe in saying that the majority of the people sitting here this morning have never served in this capacity nor know much about the art of caring for sheep-- Much less the art of working a boarder collie on the side of a Scottish mountain—a good skill for a Presbyterian, by the way.

As used in Psalm 23, by a shepherd himself, almost all of the ones that would hear it in its earliest usage would know exactly what David wanted to communicate about their God, YHWH. The image is both pastoral and political. An image of a king and caretaker would come to mind.  But it is important to remember that this is not a challenge for us to be a “shepherd” so to speak, it is a confessional reminder of what kind of God it is we worship. As much as David would have liked to pledge himself to this kind of leadership, he is not the Good Shepherd. He is not YHWH. Nor are we.

In this text, that can stand at the top of the list of best known scripture verses, most read at funeral services, and serve as many personal credos, we are reminded that to call YHWH shepherd means that:

1)   I do not lack nor will I lack any provision

2)   YHWH restores my life

3)   YHWH leads me to feed in holy pastures

4)   YHWH pulls me away from fear

5)   YHWH prepares a table for me, even in strange places such as in the presence of enemies

6)   And YHWH pursues me

Attention to the individual and community!

This is the story of the salvation history of God’s people and speaks to God’s continued salvific activity today. Our God cares for all our needs, resuscitates us from the graves of life, and pursues us. As often we hear about the enemies that pursued David, it is God that pursues him even stronger.  Therefore, we will not fear!

What I would like to suggest is this text serves as the spring that God wants us to see; the hope afforded in the story of the resurrection; a life lived in the goodness of God’s grace. But what serves as our lens in order to see this spring?

What is the key to our regaining good vision when our appreciation of God gets all clouded with the world’s proverbial pollen? What serves as our lens, is simply, but as challenging as = TRUST.

In the words of John Calvin, this type of trust is not easy or lazy. Calvin writes, “There is a great difference between this sleep of stupidity and the repose which faith produces.”

We hear that enemies will also pursue us, but trust is not an easy, romantic, optimistic view of things. Trust means that despite all the confusion of an empty tomb we are called to go back to Jerusalem, to Galilee, and proclaim that our God is still with us until the end of time.

The image that we get in the gospel of John is one that puts a Good Shepherd, Jesus, up against other imposter shepherds as condemned in Ezekiel. We see in Jesus something strikingly similar to the shepherd of Psalm 23:

For Jesus will:

1)   restore our souls

2)   lead us to holy pastures

3)   is with us in danger

4)   prepares a holy supper even as the enemies approach

5)   in the presence of death he teaches us to not fear

6)   and he pursues us in gracious love all the days of our lives

More than anything we see in Jesus a quality of Good Shepherd that is willing to do anything for the care of his sheep. The heart of the matter is how we learn to create a habit of trust that will afford us a luxury of seeing the world and our lives in a new way.

I mentioned earlier about our trip to Haiti. This week we have been blessed with a few guests from Haiti that came as part of an event for Family Health Ministries that was held last night in Durham. The night before, on Friday, it was my pleasure to give some students a break from exam stress with a meal with Jude Exantus (our translator while in Haiti)- giving Jude a little taste of Chapel Hill at Spanky’s.

Jude shared a story with us at dinner that will forever be engrained in my memory of what it means to grow up in Haiti. Jude said when he was a little boy he wished he could have “magic shoes.” Where when he pushed a button they would turn into dress shoes—where when pushed again they would turn into athletic shoes—where when pushed again, another pair of shoes. You see Jude had only one pair of shoes. Jude only had one set of clothes.

And I asked Jude how in the world did you make it out of our stereotypical impression of life in Haiti? Why in the world are you not a 31-year-old man still dreaming about “magic shoes”? And he said two things: 1) Faith and 2) Education. You see Jude’s faith helped him see his context in an entirely different way. It is not a story of hopelessness, but rather, hope that even amidst such a billowing shadow of death, his faith gave him life.

Today we will come to the Good Shepherd’s table. We are reminded in this meal that God is with us; God provides for us; God protects us; God pursues us;

But God is not ours to own.

Christ comes to us to teach us in a visible way what we have heard from the psalmist. Christ reminds us that whatever the cost, whatever the lurking wolf, that this Shepherd is different.

From the great hymn writer and poet, Isaac Watts, I leave you with his words that are a paraphrase of Psalm 23:

            The sure provisions of my God attend me all my days

            O May your House be my abode, and all my work be praise

            There would I find a settled rest, while others go and come

            No more a stranger, or a guest, but like a child at home