The Lord is Our Shepherd
May 7th
Bock Ki Kim
Texts:
Psalm 23,
1 John 3:16~24
My home village, where I was born, was surrounded by many mountain peaks. There were about 50 houses in the village. It was a beautiful mountain village. A winding river ran from East to West as a creek merged into the river from the North. There were smooth pebbles and sand along side the creek with pure and clean water, that made a babbling sound to delight passersby.
In the morning before the sunrise, each house had beautiful smoke rising from the chimney. If a dog made a sound, it made an echo as the mountains whispered something to our ears.
In spring, all the villagers enjoyed beautiful flowers that began blooming at the bottom of the mountain. In late April or early May, the mountain peaks were decorated by many different kinds of pink azaleas and new fresh green leaves. If the temperature went up, the simmering air drew people out of their houses. That was the signal that real spring had begun.
Whenever I read Psalm 23, this kind of picture comes to my mind. The image of the shepherd God is always blended with the picture of my home village back in Korea. Although there are not many pastures there, my emotional and spiritual green pasture rests in this village rather than a prairie meadow in Ontario or Manitoba. So my green pasture and still waters have always been captured in this memory rather than in an image of a real flat field. The image of the valley of the shadow also remains somewhere in the valley of the rocky mountain.
My image of God and my faith have been formed by and from where I lived. More recently, I have begun to expand my emotional and spiritual green pasture, and the valley in the Canadian context too, although the images of a shepherd God are always linked with the village.
In the Bible there are many different images of God. We can easily find God as the Creator, Shepherd, Potter, Owner of vineyard, Farmer, Husband, Father and sometimes mother, Judge, Wisdom provider and many more. But the shepherd always draws my special attention among these images. I think one reason why this image remains so strong in my mind is that the Bible constantly depicts our God as a shepherd, not only in the Old Testament but also in the New Testament.
Today’s lectionary texts from the Old and New Testament are closely linked together with the image of the Shepherd. Although we did not read the text, from John 10, it also describes Jesus as our Shepherd. From verse 11:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away-and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
In the Old Testament, this image appears in many places, such as the Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. Psalm 23, of course, is the most famous one.
As we heard, today I asked the Scripture reader to read this passage with the 1st person plural rather than the original 1st person singular. The reason I asked to do this is that we are living in a faith community. We have read this psalm many times as it is written. I often think that we should read this psalm more communal way, although it is a personal confession and expression.
As we know, the psalms were very important materials in Israel’s worship, especially when expressing thanksgiving. They would recite psalms for remembering God, and to check their relationship with God. These services of worship were rooted in the healing, compelling, and hopeful revelation of God in their history.
Today, in the context of our worship service, I also would like to read this psalm in a more communal and practical way, rather than with a theological or systematic approach. I would like to focus on a spiritual interpretation or reflection for the purpose of the healing, compelling, and hopeful revelation of God for our faith community, TUMC.
The mode of psalm 23 seems to be retrospective: looking back to the past and remembering God’s presence and guidance, but still looking forward to the kingdom to come. I would like to follow that path in the context of our own faith community.
In doing so, I want to raise several questions:
Are we really convinced of the fact that the Lord is our Shepherd?
Where is the green pasture for our congregation, TUMC, Mennonites, and Anabaptists?
We are living beside Lake Ontario. We enjoy the water during the summer. But we know that this is not the physical location of the author’s life. Then where is the quiet water for our congregation?
A more difficult question to ask might be: Where is the valley of the shadow of death?
Once, I thought probably God had misled our Korean group, bringing us to unsettled water. When I arrived in Toronto, we chose to come to TUMC after visiting several GTA Mennonite churches. That was just before the congregation began its discernment on the human sexuality issue.
So as I prepare this sermon I again raise the question: How do we see the issue of human sexuality, multiculturalism, losing church members, and many other issues?
In our church we can see a variety of cultures represented: German, Russian, Spanish, African, Asian. Do we consider multi-cultural ministry as a difficult burden or a blessing from God?
Do we really appreciate the congregational process we have come through, the discernment process on human sexuality? Is this the green pasture or the valley of the shadow of death for our congregation?
Exactly 10 years ago, I decided to join the Mennonites. Then there were many challenges before me. Interestingly the challenges were not related to the number of Mennonites, wealth, the ethnic diversity, culture, or even Mennonite jokes. The challenge came from people’s faith, which involves risk-taking action and biblically based discernment. The boldness to follow the steps of Jesus Christ into their personal and congregational lives strikes me although it can be seen as the valley of the shadow.It was amazing to see Anabaptist leaders who have laid down their lives for the brothers and sisters, who seek the truth and faith in their life journey. The stories of martyrdom were one thing in particular that pushed me toward the Mennonite church. Frankly I don’t know what this means to me living in North America, where there is no persecution. But for the early Anabaptist Leaders, the sense of the Lord’s presence and the guidance of the Spirit became a huge encouragement, and this pushed me toward becoming a Mennonite.
Literally and spiritually, persecution was the valley of the shadow for them and for many others in the 16th century. But the more severe the persecution the stronger their faith. I was facinated by this, and so took part in any opportunity I had to get to know Mennonites and Anabaptists.
As we know, the first Anabaptist confession of faith has been named the Schleitheim confession. Schleitheim was on the border of Switzerland and Germany. In the conference held there, the early Anabaptists developed seven articles that became the landmark document for Anabaptism and Mennonites. Anabaptist historians say that about 12 leaders discussed issues related to baptism, the ban, the Lord’s supper, separation from unbelievers, competent shepherds, nonviolence, and taking of oaths. These leaders soon joined in the Martyrs’ Synod held in August 1527, which came to be called that because all but three of the 60 people who took part were dead within five years.This is one good example of what meant to be a good shepherd and to walk through the valley of the shadow, but it challenged me to think of the meaning of the Lord’s presence.
From my experience, TUMC can be seen as a great descendant of Anabaptism. Disagreement and persecution, in human eyes, might be seen as the valley of death. But the Anabaptist martyrs considered that valley as a green pasture by which they would reach the house of the Lord. Again, whether we understand our conflict over issues of human sexuality as the valley of the shadow or not, the important point is that the Lord has been our Shepherd. Whether or not we see human difficulties as the valley of the shadow, still the Lord wants to be our Shepherd.
This means that, whether we view these issues positively or negatively, we should confess that the Lord is our shepherd.
We know love by this, that Jesus laid down his life for us-and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. In fact, in the 16th century most Anabaptist leaders literally did this. It seems to be God’s intention that we be vulnerable in dealing with this complicated issue in our faith community. Laying our congregational life down, so as to be a discernment community, is not an easy choice. But we know that because Jesus has set an example for us, we can follow. We know that in our congregation, we have to give our lives for one another.
How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? For the past four years, I have been amazed by what TUMC is doing, which is the action in love, or love in action. It is not difficult naming our church ministries in our annual report book.
I believe that this is our community expression: to love each other, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. Supporting Mennonite Church Canada/ Eastern Canada, Mennonite Central Committee, Refugee Support, New Life Center, Toronto Mennonite Theological Center, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Youth Drop-in Center, Mennonite Center in Ukraine, Vineland Mennonite Home, St. Clair O’Conner Chaplaincy,,Lazarus Rising, Silver Lake Mennonite Camp, Global Closet, MCC – Black Creek Festival, 10,000 Villages, Campus service, Distribution of Bibles, and many others.
By this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is
greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. (1 John 3: 19~)
We know that the author of psalm 23 is David. From the Bible reading we know how he experienced all kinds of human turmoil: being chosen by God, victory over Goliath, Fleeing from Saul, pretending to be mad to keep his life, escaping to the cave Adullam, Becoming the king, committing adultery and killing his faithful servant, being betrayed by his son and fleeing from his son and adversary. His whole life is a drama.
Of course he has many enemies as he expressed in his psalm. So he has struggled with personal and spiritual issues as well as physical difficulties. He has known many failures too. He has lost people he loved. Throughout his whole life, he has tasted the fact that life is not easy at all. But he can confess that, with God’s presence, he has been able to meet all kinds of challenges. Even though it has been tough, he is a wiser, stronger person than he would have been without those struggles.
Although the psalm is very short, the author of the psalm suggests a more practical way of life than most. He teaches us to look at ourselves, our congregation, and even the world, and see them as God would have us see them.
As we experienced in our season of discernment, we were quite fearful about dealing with the issue of human sexuality. When we were anxious, we sometimes wished it wasn’t our congregational issue. But TUMC took courage not to avoid the challenge of dealing with this topic, a challenge for our whole community. I believe that we overcame our fears although the issue still reverberates in our hearts and silently around us. When we have felt sorrow in losing church members, whether because of this issue or because of job changes and moves, we have felt the experience of passing through the valley of the shadow. When we struggled with feelings of helplessness as the CPTers were held hostage, we still felt God was working somewhere among people to resolve the situation.
The most precious expression from this psalm is that “the Lord has been our Shepherd and always with us.”
Today, as I look at myself, our congregation, and the larger Mennonite Church, I have felt that it’s time to proclaim more boldly that the Lord is OUR shepherd. Truly the Lord is OUR Shepherd because the Lord is among US.
May the Holy Spirit embrace all of us and restore the spirit of this congregation. May the Good Shepherd abide with us as the shepherd of our flock, as we continue the faith journey beside the quiet water, in the green pasture, and even in the valley of the shadow! Surely goodnees and mercy shall follow this congregation all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forevermore. AMEN.