During our ecumenical midweek Lenten services this year, we’re focusing on the theme of God being Enough. This week’s service is hosted by Christ the King, and the sermon explores Psalm 23’s promise that the Good Shepherd leads and provides for us. Following the Good Shepherd is enough.
The Scripture readings for this service are Psalm 23 and John 10:7-16. A substantial portion of this sermon is reprised from a sermon I gave in Greene on March 30, 2022, when we were using the series “Shepherd Me, O God” from Luther Seminary’s Rolf Jacobson and Church Anew for Lent.
Here’s the livestream (beginning a couple minutes into the service) and the sermon podcast audio.
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I know Psalm 23 is a familiar reading for many of you, so I want to start tonight with a bit of a quiz, see what you know about the 23rd Psalm.
Who’s credited as the author of the book of Psalms? David (I’d also accept God.)
We just read Psalm 23; how many Psalms are there in the book of Psalms? (150)
Who is the shepherd talked about in Psalm 23? (The Lord)
What are the names of the sheep in the good shepherd’s flock? Shirley, goodness, and mercy. Sorry…but isn’t that what verse six says? “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
I do not read Hebrew, so I have to trust people who translate the Bible, and the people who know what they’re talking about. But Dr. Rolf Jacobson says this verse is one of the top 10 worst English translations in the Bible. It’s not the surely goodness and mercy part, it’s the word follow. The word in Hebrew is not “follow”, the word is “pursue.” God pursues us with goodness and mercy.
The word “mercy” there is the Hebrew word “chesed.” “Chesed” is the quality it takes to endure in a relationship and be faithful to the person you’re in a relationship with. It’s choosing to be faithful, choosing to value the other, kind of “loving fidelity.” Sometimes it’s translated “lovingkindness.”
God’s goodness and lovingkindness don’t just follow us, they pursue us. If you read more of the Psalms, David talks all the time about his enemies pursuing him, chasing him day and night. But in Psalm 23, it’s God who pursues us. God takes the initiative to love us. That’s how committed God is to being in a loving relationship with you.
And we can’t get away. In Psalm 139, the Psalmist says, “Lord, you have searched me and know me.” You know me when I sit down, when I rise up, even before I speak, God, you know what I’m going to say. Where could I go to get away from you? Up to heaven? You’re there. Down to the grave, to Sheol? You’re there too. If I go to the farthest place across the sea, even there your hand shall lead me. Even before you were born, God was at work, forming your inward parts, knitting you together in your mother’s womb.
If God wasn’t loving, that’d be a terrifying thought, right? God’s chasing you and you can’t escape! Sometimes we make that mistake – think about Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden after they sinned. They hid from God, hoping God wouldn’t notice them. But it turns out God is really really good at hide and seek.
And God’s not looking for you to punish you, to see what you’ve been up to recently. God knows all of that already! God pursuing us is good news, the best news ever, because God knows all about who you are and what you’ve done, and God choose to love you, chooses to forgive you. God is pursuing you with mercy and love, seeking to be in relationship with you, seeking to find you and carry you back home.
Sometimes people ask, “Have you found Jesus?” My favorite answer is “Wait, was he missing?” But the most accurate answer to that question is “No, he found me.” Jesus says in John 15, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” We love because God first loved us. That’s grace. God pursues us when we get lost, when we forget where we’re going, even when we run away.
A televangelist made some news this week for saying in a message that if you do the right things, if you do the right rituals, and especially if you send her $1,000, you can receive some extra blessings from God. You’ll get prosperity, God will fight your enemies, heal your sickness, give you long life, and that sort of thing. My favorite is her promise that you’ll get a personal angel assigned to you! All you need to do is celebrate passover the right way, and again, sending her money will help.
Talk about missing the point! Yes, stewardship and giving are important. If we’re going to keep doing ministry together, we need to share our resources. Things like elevators and parking lots and furnaces cost a lot of money. Providing meals costs money. I appreciate getting a paycheck.
But God does not value you more as a sheep if you “sow a seed” of a thousand dollars or any garbage like that. The good shepherd loves you, the good shepherd provides for you, the good shepherd cares for you because that’s what God does.
You are a child of God. You are loved. And that’s enough. You don’t need to earn more of God’s love. You cannot make God love you more than God already does!
This season of Lent is leading up to the ultimate story of love, where Jesus gives his life for us. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
You do not need to fear, because God has already redeemed you. God is with you, protecting and comforting you. Psalm 23 promises the good shepherd is with us, in the good, in the bad. In the green pastures and still waters, and through the darkest valley. The love you have from God, the abundant, eternal life Jesus promises is already enough; there is nothing more you need.
What changes when we believe God is our good shepherd watching over us? What changes when we believe God is committed to providing for us, to leading us, to pursuing us with love no matter what? What changes when we believe God is enough?
Amen