I would like to begin by telling you about something that happened to me last week – I fell in love.
You see, for the past six weeks Lindsey and I have been biding our time, impatiently waiting for the opportunity to meet our new nephew. And last week we were finally able to spend a few days in New Jersey with Lindsey’s brother and sister-in-law, and little baby Matthew.
For five days our lives were focused on this tiny baby. Each day revolved around the continuous cycle of feedings, diaper changes, naps, and cuddle time. At some point in those five days, probably the minute I laid eyes on my nephew, I fell in love with him. By the time I arrived at the airport for the flight home, I had changed.
A picture had been building in my mind for the last ten months. I wondered, what would Matthew look like? What would it feel like to have a nephew? What kind of role would I play in his life? How often would I see him? I looked forward to seeing the whole family surround Matthew with love and support. My questions and ideas had led me to create a picture, a fuzzy image, of what life would be like now that Matthew was a part of my life. And then the second I saw the little guy nestled in his mother’s arms, it all changed. Any preconceived ideas that I had gave way to a sense of love I was not prepared for.
It’s the kind of love that is exciting and consuming. I can’t stop thinking about this little baby. I ache to be reunited. I want to be able to hold him again. Sometimes I swear that I can smell him (well, actually, I probably can, considering that he spit up on a few of my clothes!). I’m in love with someone; and everything has changed. I feel like this love has given me a heightened awareness; almost like a super-hero. Things seem more real, more personal, more emotional, more profound. The event of meeting my nephew changed my life.
There’s a pattern here that I’m sure each of you have experienced at one point or another in your lives. First there is the way things were; the daily routine; the ins and outs of life that we take for granted. Next comes an event. This event can be subtle, or profound; positive or negative; expected or unexpected. The event changes everything. Following the event is the new perspective. A line has been crossed and we cannot go back to the way things were; and often we would not want to. This event creates a new perspective which influences our decisions and relationships from that point forward.
Our lives are full of such events, including: graduation, marriage, a new pet, a new job, moving, and even death.
In the Christian faith we tend to make big deals out of events. We celebrate birth by baptizing the newborn. We have baccalaureate services for graduation. We have a liturgy for marriage. And of course, we hold funerals for those who have died. We make a big deal out of these events because we recognize that from that moment on, everything will change. With every event, with every change, the church offers scripture with one constant message: Christ is with us, guiding and protecting us, and showing us the way.
The twenty-third Psalm offers us such a message.
“The Lord is my shepherd.” As shepherd, God provides for and protects the flock. But this shepherd is not some distant figure. The Lord is not a shepherd; or even the shepherd. The Lord is MY shepherd. This is the most personal and intimate use of this metaphor in the entire Old Testament.
“I shall not want.” This is a statement of faith and trust that God alone provides and protects, in this life and the next.
“He lays me down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul; he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Again, this is a statement of faith and trust that God alone provides and protects. God alone has the tools and the means to keep us from evil. This is not an empty confession or a new idea. The psalmist knows about God’s provision and protection from the story of the Exodus, where God led the Israelites out of slavery, saving their lives and providing for them along the journey.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup is filled to the brim. Surely goodness and love will pursue me all the days of my life and I shall return to the house of the Lord forever.”
The twenty-third Psalm is a regular companion to funeral services; where we mark the event of the passing of a loved one and acknowledge as a community that nothing will be the same. We recite these words, almost as a mantra against the power of death which haunts us. “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing….I will fear no evil, for God is with me….I shall return to the house of the Lord forever.” The Psalm is itself an event; a line that distinguishes between the way things were and the way things will be. When we engage in scripture we are changed because we are shown the love that God has for us. Once we get a taste of that, there’s no going back.
Last year I worked as a chaplain in a hospital. As I made my rounds I would ask patients if they would like me to read scripture to them. Gertrude always asked me to recite Psalm 23. I would begin alone, but she would always join in, her voice gradually gaining strength as words of the King James language boiled up from her memory and formed on her lips. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters; he restoreth my soul.” Each time we recited the psalm she would smile, look up to the ceiling and conclude with the words “thank you.” Not directed to me, but to God. This psalm was a life-changing event for Gertrude; a life-changing event that she returned to day after day. For her, the psalm was an event where she could finally see God face-to-face, and she fell madly in love; so much so that her world changed. And so did the world of those who worked with her; because her love could not be contained. One day Gertrude was gone, but her presence was still being felt by everyone who had the privilege of working with her while she was sick.
Life is full of events which shape the future of not only our own lives, but also the lives of those around us. The church will always be alongside you, ready to help celebrate the events, eager to share the news that through the ups and downs, God is with you, protecting and providing for you.
And now I catch myself living in two worlds. There is the world which has been dramatically altered by my love for my nephew. But this new world is also filled with anticipation and expectation for the next big event – the birth of my own child; an event which will undoubtedly change the course of my life and fill me with love that I cannot even imagine. I am so thankful that the church will be there through the whole process, continually celebrating the events with me and reminding me that God is leading me to the places where I will not want or fear, where goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
Amen.
