“That He may Teach us His Ways and that We May Walk in His Paths”

Some of these thoughts originally appeared in a sermon entitled Even When It’s Not Still and Green, prompted by Psalm 23 and a previous national tragedy. I have revisited and revised them in light of the seditious and deadly storming of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, and our path forward. 

Any illusion we might have about being able to make it through life without some hungry and thirsty passages along treacherous trails is dispelled the central verse of the Psalm 23:

EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE DARKEST VALLEY, 

I FEAR NO EVIL; FOR YOU ARE WITH ME.”* 

Now, I know most of us learned that verse in another translation: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” but the words really speak about any dark passage. To limit the Psalm to only “death’s dark veil” is unfortunate. There are things worse than death, and we need God beside us when we face them. Sadly, this week’s events brought us both: the darkness of democracy under siege and the death of individuals wreaking havoc or attempting to protect others from it. Sadder still, we’ve been reminded that despite our faith-based pronouncements, there is plenty of evil to fear.

Life is a scary undertaking. There is no formula you can plug in to ensure you’ll get through all your days healthy, whole, and unharmed. You can drive defensively, but that won’t keep every driver in other vehicles awake, alert, in control, or sober. You can eat right, exercise three times a week, sleep eight hours every night, but that’s not going to prevent aging or guarantee you’re never going to have a doc-tor use words like surgery or chemotherapy while reading your chart. You can live in a beautiful setting, send your children to the best schools, provide every opportunity to grow and thrive as citizens who will contribute to family, church and community, and still be shocked and driven to tears when news breaks that someone has done the unthinkable! You can do your civic duty, vote for the candidate of your choice and trust that the electoral process will be respected, and the results of the election accept-ed, but that doesn’t mean others will agree to do the same. You can get on a bus and ride to D.C. to exercise freedom of speech peacefully, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get pushed aside or trampled by others who have decided to leave decency and dignity behind while endangering the lives of others.

EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE DARKEST VALLEY, 

I FEAR NO EVIL; FOR YOU ARE WITH ME.” 

There are two other things which make Psalm 23 so compelling. The first is that it is all PRESENT TENSE. All the feeding and leading and the restoring are occurring now. It stands as a testimony to what the Lord does. In the mystery of God’s grace, the Lord stands with those who experience the accident and those left behind in its wake; the Lord goes with you when you’re having the biopsy and the treatments. The Lord is with you even when all the doctor’s medicines and all science’s machines can’t get you going again. And when madness erupts leading to horrendous headline news, God is with you, whether you’re the one offering comfort to those in distress, the officer who is beaten and dies in the line of duty, or the parent trying to explain to a child what is playing out on the TV screen instead of their favorite show.

The last compelling element lifted up by the Twenty-third Psalm is its personal language, and the one-to-one relationship spoken about by the one who addresses the shepherd in the intimate terms of the first person. Yes, this is the maker of heaven and earth, but no, this God is not far away and distant, unapproachable and uninvolved in the daily doings one of his children. In one of her meditations, au-thor Anne Lamott writes of beginning a prayer: “I know you’ve got bigger fish to fry, but...” and then she goes on to address God with something that concerns her. That’s a prayer which grows out of rela-tionship...out of a trust slowly developed over years of interaction which discovers and accepts and celebrates the truth of those personal words at the heart of Psalm 23: “For you are with me!”

The events of January 6th came as many of us were marking the end of Christmas, the short season when we celebrate and consider what it means for God to be with us. Now, as we transition what the church calls “Ordinary Time,” we must acknowledge that these are extraordinary times in which there will yet be dark valley days to sadden our hearts. At this point we do well to focus on a key word in that pivotal verse from Psalm 23: “through.” The psalm doesn’t say we are stuck or trapped or doomed to wander forever in the darkest valley. The psalm does speak of trusting God as the Shepherd who walks with us through these perilous times and beyond.

The Shepherd is ready to lead. It is up to us to follow. There are many passages of scripture which describe what such following looks like. It is a lifetime endeavor to take them from the page and live them daily. Here are a couple of places to start:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; 

and what does the Lord require of you 

but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6.8 

In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; 

for this is the law and the prophets. 

Matthew 7. 12 

Jesus answered, 

‘The first is this ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 

you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, 

and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 

The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

There is no commandment greater than these. 

Mark 12. 29-31 

Let love be genuine, hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 

love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 

Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 

Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; 

do not claim to be wiser than you are. 

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 

If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; 

for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ 

No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; 

for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ 

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

Romans 12. 9-21 

Finally, the prophets Micah (4. 1-4), and Isaiah (2. 2-4) share a vision of what awaits when people put forth the effort to walk behind the Shepherd. May the prayer contained within the vision, be ours here and now, now and always! 

In the days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house 

shall be established as the highest of the mountains, 

and shall be raised above the hills. 

Peoples shall stream to it, and many nations shall come and say: 

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, 

to the house of the God of Jacob; 

that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” 

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 

He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; 

they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; 

nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; 

but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, 

and no one shall make them afraid; 

for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. 

Micah 4. 1-4 

*Psalm 23.4
(All quotations of Scripture are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
The emphasis bold print is mine.)