Church newsletter pastoral column for St. Peter Lutheran Church, Greene, Iowa, for March, 2022. The series on Psalm 23 and the quote from Rolf Jacobsen are from Church Anew’s Shepherd Me, O God series.
Psalm 23 for Lent
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
– Psalm 23:1
This month in the church calendar, we enter the season of Lent. In just a few weeks, we’ll hear the story of the central act of all human history, when Jesus—the Son of God, God with us—laid down his life for us. As we prepare to celebrate that ultimate gift of love shown on Good Friday and the victory of Easter’s empty tomb, this Lenten season of preparation offers a great opportunity for us to intentionally focus on faith as we journey towards the cross.
This year, the theme for our midweek worship services is the familiar words of Psalm 23. I hope you’ll join me and Pastor Joan Thomas from the UMC-Presbyterian-Brethren Yoke congregation in gathering each Wednesday evening for worship as we explore this profound idea of the Lord being our Shepherd. Here’s how Rolf Jacobsen, author of the series “Shepherd Me O God,” describes it:
The 23rd Psalm is one of the best-known pieces of scripture by Christians all over the world. It is a text that is quick to the lips in hospital rooms, at funerals, and in daily moments of need. The ancient words of this song have a way of sticking with us, nestling into our bones, and singing us home. During the season of Lent, we will return to this text day in and day out. We will pray it regularly, allowing it to enter our daily vocabulary at home, work, school, or community. And by reciting these words together, we will encounter a God who shepherds all of us, and discover in ourselves a need for the love of a shepherd to tend our needs.
The schedule for our Wednesday worship services and meals is elsewhere in this newsletter. I hope you’ll make it a priority to participate each week during Lent. You’ll hear these words again at Ash Wednesday worship on March 2, but I invite you in preparation to read and pray Psalm 23:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
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.
In this season, may you know the love of the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, the Savior who has given Himself for you, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Daniel Flucke