Fearing

April 20, 1997
Psalm 23; Acts 4: 5-12
4th Sunday of Easter, Year B

 © John Ewing Roberts, 4/20/97


INTRODUCTION

In Acts 4: 5-12 we hear Peter making a fearless speech in the power of the Holy Spirit. He does this "in the presence of his enemies" to paraphrase Psalm 23. Just a few weeks ago during Lent and Holy Week Peter did not look so good - misunderstanding Jesus, falling asleep in Gethsemane, and denying Jesus three times in one night (Luke 22: 61).

But that was before the resurrection, before the triple exchange with Jesus about loving him and feeding his sheep (John 21: 15ff.), before the power of the Holy Spirit swept over him.

Students of the topography of Jerusalem can make a convincing case that when Peter gave his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2, he was standing where Jesus had stood when he taught in the temple precincts (e.g., Matthew 23). He means it when he says in Acts 2: 25, "I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken." Again Peter sounds like a man who fears no evil because his Lord is before him in the presence of his enemies.

What Psalm 23 says about God's presence and fearing makes a good lectionary match up for the early part of Acts in the Sundays of Easter season. For that reason I am focusing this morning on Psalm 23 in general and the issue of fearing in particular.


AN OLD FRIEND

Psalm 23 is an old friend. We memorize it as children. We scarcely refer to the printed page when it is the responsive reading except to know where our part begins and ends. We know it so well that we hear it with mixed feelings because it is simultaneously comforting and overly familiar. We smile in recognition of a comfortable old friend, but yawn and begin to look at our watches because of its predictability.

Psalm 23 radiates trust in God's goodness. It breathes a spirit of calm assurance, deep peace, and profound serenity - not even the thought of the shadow of death can trouble such a spirit. (J. J. Steward Perowne, The Book of Psalms, Vol. 1 [Andover: Warren F. Draper] 1882, p. 224)

In quaint Victorian language the 19th century British Baptist pulpit giant Charles Spurgeon wrote that Psalm 23 "needs no other key than that which every Christian may find in his (sic) own bosom." He called it "a surpassing ode, which none of the daughters of music can excel." We don't hear sermons like that anymore! (C. H., Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. I, third edition [New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company] 1881, p. 398)In our time Samuel Terrien wrote that Psalm 23 presents "a state of spiritual equilibrium and of satisfaction without smugness" pointing "to the unwavering, unruffled steadiness of complete trust" in a sufficient God. (Samuel Terrien, The Elusive Presence - The Heart of Biblical Theology [New York: Harper & Row, Publishers] 1978,p. 332)

More recently Walter Bruggemann (a teacher of the Reverend Ann Asper Wilson who is with us today) wrote that "it is almost pretentious to comment on the psalm...It is such a simple statement that it can bear its own witness without comment." (Walter Bruggemann, The Message of the Psalms [Minneapolis: Augsburg Press] 1984, pp. 154ff.)

Since he then goes on to comment anyway, I too have decided to rush in where angels fear to tread. Join me in revisiting Psalm 23. I promise not to repeat the obvious unless it is important to remember. I hope to offer something fresh as well.


THE IMAGE OF THE SHEPHERD

With whatever grandiose words you speak of God...
- omniscient,
= omnipotent,
- omnipresent;
with whatever philosophical and theological abstractions you conceptualize God...
- the unmoved mover,
- thought thinking thought,
- the uncaused cause,
- the ground of being,
- creator, judge, redeemer,
you cannot come close to the remarkably accessible pictures of God as a shepherd in a pasture and a host at a meal.

It has become commonplace to observe that in modern urban culture few of us know much about shepherds aside from a fleeting moment at a petting zoo or an experience during a live nativity production. (Isn't it nice that the construction on the new sanctuary has progressed to the point that the mountain of dirt is gone from the front of the building, and we can again visualize having a live nativity there?!)

I take seriously my wife's suggestion that I mention how a Moravian missionary to India translated the image of Lord as a shepherd to people who had never seen any sheep. He turned to the image of the most protective and nurturing creature they knew and rendered Psalm 23 as "The Lord is like a mother water buffalo."

The image of the Lord as shepherd is as old as Israel itself. When Jacob blessed his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh, he said, "God who has shepherded me ever since to this day." (Gen. 48: 15) (The Broadman Bible Commentary, Clifton J. Allen, editor, Vol. 4, Psalms, John IDurham [Nashville: Broadman Press] 1971, p. 217) In spite of its antiquity and our distance from sheep, I think the image still is potent.

The word picture of God or a ruler as a shepherd is found throughout the ancient world - Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome and Israel. (The Anchor Bible Dictionary, David Noel Freedman, editor-in-chief, Vol. 5, O- Sh, "Sheep, Shepherd," by Jack W. Vancil, pp. 1187-1190) We are all familiar with pictures of Egyptian statues and mummy cases with Pharaoh holding in his crossed hands the shepherd's crook and the master's flail.

Incidentally, the shepherd's rod and crook were used to protect the sheep or to correct them with a nudge in the right direction. Those who would condone corporal punishment of children on religious grounds will find no real support for their violence here.

My mother with a mischievous glint in her eye would look at me and quote Proverbs 23: 13-14 from the King James Version. "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. If you beat him with the rod, you will save his life from hell."

I survived! As an adult for Christmas one year I gave her the New English Bible, partly because it has a different translation for Proverbs 23: 13. "Take the stick to him and save him from death." This reading is consistent with the idea that the shepherd used his rod to prod the sheep toward safety, not to beat the sheep to within an inch of its life.

Whether you go with the King James Version or the New English Bible on Proverbs 23: 13-14, remember that no shepherd ever beat a sheep with his rod. But mark this well - the sheep could take comfort and find security in the knowledge that the shepherd would always give them a nudge in the right direction if they were wandering outside safe boundaries.


THE PUZZLE OF "I SHALL NOT WANT"

In addition to the familiar and comforting word pictures, Psalm 23 has a few puzzles within its beloved verses. The shepherd we can understand, but "I shall not want" in verse 1 puzzles us somewhat.

We know of good Christians who want and need food, clothes, shelter, a job, or medicine. How can good Christians who are in want say, "I shall not want"? I have no easy answer to this puzzle. But there are two comments I can make about "I shall not want."

     (1) Some Woodbrook Examples of Meeting Needs As Best We Can

We cannot meet all the needs of those in want, but we can and must meet some. Let me tell you about a Woodbrook person who is doing that right now. A member of our youth group, Rachael Tanner, left Thursday on an Alliance of Baptists mission trip to Zimbabwe. While she is there, she will distribute medical supplies collected by her nurse mother, Judy Tanner. Judyand Rachael cannot solve all the medical wants and needs in the world, much less all the needs in Zimbabwe, but they can help to meet some of them, and they are doing just that.

Let me take their action as an occasion to point out that this has happened previously in our church. Before and during World War II Dr. Gordon Seagrave was a medical missionary in Burma where his family had served as American Baptist missionaries for several generations. Dr. Seagrave, who was to become known as "the Burma surgeon," was an active member of the young people's group at Eutaw Place while he was a medical student at Hopkins. When he would come back to Baltimore on furlough from missionary service in Burma, he would take discarded medical equipment from wastebaskets at Hopkins and Union Memorial hospitals. What was a discard in Baltimore was a useful medical tool in Burma. He wrote of his work in a book called Tales of a Wastebasket Surgeon. (Gordon S. Seagrave, Burma Surgeon [New York: W. W. Norton & Co.] 1943; Tales of a Waste-Basket Surgeon     [Philadelphia: Judson Press] 1938)

(There was in the early 1960's an hour long network television documentary on Dr. Seagrave who was a beloved and colorful character. One scene showed him taking a medical history and giving a thoughtful diagnosis; another showed him operating while chain-smoking [not recommended!]; but my favorite was the clip of him playing softball. He insisted on pitching and batting even though he was too old to run the bases. He would take his cuts, and if he made contact, there was a young nurse standing by home plate and ready to be his designated runner!)

The Tanners and Seagraves among us cannot meet all the needs and wants of Zimbabwe or Burma. But for those in want, they and we can meet some of their needs. We cannot do everything, but we can do something. We cannot meet all needs, but we can and must meet some.

     (2) The Example of Paul and His Needs

Paul knew something about want. In II Corinthians 11 he gives his "CV." He was given 40 lashes less one on five occasions, beaten with rods three times, stoned once, shipwrecked three times, "in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren, in toil and in hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure" not to mention ceaseless pressure and anxiety for all the churches. (II Corinthians 11: 24-29)

But listen to what he wrote:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed... (II Corinthians 4: 8-9)

"I shall not want!"Paul again...

Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4: 10-13)

"He restoreth my soul..."

Whenever we deal as best we can with those in want, we can depend on God to restore our souls. "The Lord reanimates and returns such persons to vigor by encouraging them, exciting them to new effort and filling their lives with new joy." (Fred M. Wood, Psalms: Songs from Life [Nashville: Convention Press] 1984,p. 77)


FEARING NO EVIL

In addition to the puzzle of "I shall not want," there is the enigma of "I will fear no evil." Just as we know many religious people who are in want, so do we also know many religious folk who are afraid of everything from Halloween to the Easter bunny, from movies to the Internet. They will tell you they believe the Bible (which would include this line from the 23rd Psalm about "I will fear no evil"), but they can spot evil and get the holy shakes just about anywhere and anytime. Some even seem to be proud of their sensitivities as if it were a mark of piety to have the theologically correct list of fearful things.

Psalm 23 makes it clear that it is the presence of the shepherd which relieves all fear. "I will fear no evil, for thou art with me..." (Psalm 23: 4b)

The presence of the shepherd is at the heart of the psalm and at the heart of the Easter season.
Jesus is not in the tomb; he is risen and at large in the world. Think of all the texts in the final chapters of the gospels and the opening chapters of Acts. As we deal with these in the Sundays of Easter season, we see how the presence of Jesus is the supreme issue. Once they recognize Jesus, these first believers are filled with a holy boldness. They would be the last people on earth to draw of a list of things they are scared of. They are ready to recognize Jesus because he is liable to be present to them and us in all sorts of settings:
- in a garden
- on a road
- at a meal
- in scripture study
- in hearts that burn within us
- in a familiar room
- back on the job
- where we worship regularly
- in tending his flock- anywhere, anytime...in all the world where he is with us always.

We are to fear no evil because the presence of the shepherd is with us. The image of the shepherd gives comfort and courage. But there is perhaps another image of God in Psalm 23.


THE IMAGE OF THE HOST

The other image is that of a host. Most commentators note this abrupt shift of image from God as shepherd to God as host, someone who prepares a banquet table and pours an overflowing cup. (Luther had a nice play on the words for shepherd ("Hirt") and host ("Wirt") in German, Der Herr ist mein Hirt and Der Herr ist mein Wirt.)

God's bounty as a host is more than the guest can take in. His cup runneth over (v. 5). I think it is more than coincidence that Jesus linked this kind of abundance with his role as the Good Shepherd. In the same passage where Jesus says that he is the good shepherd, he also said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10: 10-11) Our cups run over, not because we deserve it, but because that is the kind of generous host God is.

I like the interpretation that there are not two images of the Lord here - that of shepherd and that of host - but one. The shepherd is the host. Over fifty years ago in Lebanon and in Syria shepherds "used the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew expression `to set a table' when they described their task of surveying the pasture ahead of their flock. They would uproot thorns and poisonous weeds, pour hot fat in scorpions' nests and vipers' holes, and generally make sure that the sheep's natural enemies, vegetable or animal, would for a while be neutralized." In spite of the shepherd's preventative care, accidents would still happen. Thus, there was the "evening ritual of the `rodding' of the sheep, when the shepherd singles out each animal with his rod as the flock rushes to enter the fold. He shoves aside the wounded, which will be anointed with oil (cf. Luke 10: 34), and the exhausted, which will later receive the lift of a medicinal cocktail in a wooden cup. Thus, Psalm 23 maintains the image of the shepherd throughout." (Terrien, op. cit., p. 334)

I have been quoting Samuel Terrien in his great book, The Elusive Presence - The Heart of Biblical Theology. He points out that the cup which "runneth over" or "overflows" could well be translated "my cup is inebriating."

He goes on to explain that the meaning of the Hebrew root of the word translated "runneth over" is that of "intoxication either by drinking or through sexual passion." He shows that "therapeutic potions given to ailing sheep in the Middle East are generally made of fermented hemp or barley with medicinal herbs and honey." He quotes verses from Isaiah 34: 5 and Proverbs 5: 19 and 7: 18 to show how the Hebrew words for fullness is related to drinking and to passion:

     My sword has drunk its fill...
     Let her affection fill you at all time with delight...
     Come, let us take our fill of love till morning...

(Terrien, op. cit., p. 333, 349)

In other words what the shepherd/host offers the sheep/guests is simultaneously healing and exhilarating, soothing and stimulating, and refreshing and producing ecstasy - an "over the top" experience. Some cup! Some shepherd!

Another issue in this meal has to do with eating while one's enemies look on. I have read that "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies" was a favorite text in London at Communion services during World War II when German bombing was at its peak. (George Buttrick, editor, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 4, Psalms-Proverbs, exposition by J. R. P. Sclater, p. 128)

C. S. Lewis, drawing on the old Moffatt translation, found feasting while one's enemies had to look on to be petty and vulgar. (C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms [New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co.] 1958, p. 21)

However, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies" (v. 5a) does not mean that we are to eat so well that we can gloat while our enemies watch hungrily from the side lines.

The verse means that God's presence makes the meal so joyful that not even a hostile presence can mar the experience. Have you ever been at a party and been enjoying yourself until you spotted across the room someone who actively despises you in spite of the fact that you are always a delightful, charming, kind and gracious person? Their presence spoils the party for you; and you can be sure that your's spoils it for them! But this verse says that when the host prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies, their being there will not spoil the banquet. God's hospitality is so great that it overcomes human hostility.


THE FEAR OF DEATH AND THE PRESENCE OF THE SHEPHERD

Gods' presence is always available to us, even in the valley of the shadow of death. Scholars tell us it is more accurately translated as the valley of deep darkness or dark shadows, but we will always think of death as the great darkness we fear.

When my mother was dying, her doctor urged me to keep vigil by her bed. "She should not die alone," he said. And so Marylynn, Chris and I sought to be with her. Although she was unable to talk, I held her hand and leaned against the guard railing beside her bed. She frowned, then smiled and poked that part of me which protruded over the guard rail. I understood that prodding finger to be a final nudge from the maternal shepherd's rod. (Not alldeath bed stories in sermons have to be sad!)

Later while sitting beside her bed, I thought of my father's death. At the time of his death mother was in the hospital with a broken hip and a heart attack on top of it. Dad was home alone, and had gone to bed. When he did not come to visit her the next day, she called neighbors who found him in bed, with his transistor radio on, and a smile on his face.

Apparently there was no struggle, no unanswered cry for help. He passed peacefully in his sleep - 89 years old. Not bad! Still, it bothered me that he was alone. Nothing is lonelier than death, and my father had died alone.

Then, at mother's bedside as I revisited my father's death, it came over me, something I should have remembered all along - none of us can die alone - for the believer, dying alone is impossible. "Yea, though I walk through the valley...thou art with me."


CONCLUSION

"I will fear no evil (not even death) for thou art with me" is for me today the most pertinent portion of this psalm. The 23rd Psalm is supremely a psalm of God's presence as the antidote to fear. This thought, like the psalm, is simultaneously tender and powerful. No wonder children learn it "by heart," and old people whisper it in the face of death. God is at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of our lives, just as he is in the 23rd Psalm.

God is at the beginning of this Psalm in the first verse:
"The Lord is my shepherd..."

His name does not appear again until the last verse:
"I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

God is in the middle of the Psalm and in the midst of our lives as the presence, the "Thou" who addresses us, and upon whom we call.

Psalm 23 teaches us whatever our circumstances the presence of the loving Shepherd is there:
for our loneliness, he offers companionship;
for our fatigue, refreshment;
for our error, correction;
for our terror, reassurance;
for our challenges, courage;
for our sense of transitoriness, an assurance of an eternal home.
(Erik Routley, Exploring the Psalms [Philadelphia: The Westminster Press] 1975, p. 117)

The deserved caricature of much bad Southern Baptist preaching is that all too often we preachers open with one bad joke or old story, continue with three obvious points, and concludewith a corny poem or a manipulative death bed story.

I hope this morning that if I said anything obvious, it was because it was worth repeating, and that you have perhaps heard something fresh as well. But now for the first time in any sermon in memory I am ending with a death bed story, not for any emotional manipulation, but because it speaks hopefully and positively of the power of the 23rd Psalm.

I must bear witness that I have stood by more than one deathbed when someone from this church was virtually gone - eyes closed, no speech, no response. Physicians tell us that the sense of hearing often is operative when other bodily functions have failed. This seems to be the case when I clasp a hand and say these words, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want..." In this moment we are tapping into something so deep that often that limp hand will grow firm in a grasp of strength and confidence. And everyone around that bed knows that an old lesson has not been forgotten:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.

An old lesson has not been forgotten, and a faithful God has not forgotten either. Then "steals on the ear the distant triumph song, and hearts are brave again and arms are strong. Alleluia, alleluia!" (A New Hymnal for Colleges and Schools, edited by Jeffery Rowthorn and Russell Schulz-Widmar [New Haven: Yale University Press] 1992] William Walsham How, "For All the Saints," No. 296)

The Good Shepherd said, "Because I live, you shall live also." (John 14:19)

We, his people, sing in this season, "Christ the Lord is risen today! Alleluia!" (Baptist Hymnal, edited by Wesley L. Forbis, editor [Nashville: Convention Press] 1991, Charles Wesley, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," No. 159)

The psalmist says, "I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."

And with them all we say, "Alleluia and amen!"


© John Ewing Roberts
Woodbrook Baptist Church
(Formerly Eutaw Place Baptist Church)
Baltimore, Maryland

[This sermon is for circulation within the Woodbrook congregation and may not be reproduced without permission]