Sermon for July 19th

The reading

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.

The story / message

I was away for the ELCA National Youth Gathering in Detroit this week so I was not scheduled to preach / lead worship on July 19th.  Due to some scheduling changes (and my desire to never ride a train for more than hour again), I flew home a little early with the young adults from my church (Sunday morning, we landed at LaGuardia around 7:30 am). At 7:31 am I got a phone call from a friend saying her supply pastor was hospitalized and asking if I could lead worship at her church. Since my church already made arrangements for a supply pastor, I went to work. I was unprepared and unsure of what to expect  / do but here is a really rough outline of what I talked about at Grace Lutheran Church in Forest Hills. 

I have thought a lot about what Psalm 23 means for people during times of crisis, pain, uncertainty, suffering or the end of life.

I have shared this reading with many people during tough times. It has been part of my care and message for virtually every one of the funeral services I have led along with the events surrounding the celebration of someone’s life.  

I have leaned on the words and message of this psalm at times when I had no idea what to say, or how to show people God and God’s church are walking with them in their suffering.

This Pslam is part of many people’s faith lives. A few months ago, during my church service at a local assisted living center, Our reading was the 23^rd psalm.  The 15 or so people who came for church that day, all spoke it along with me, no bibles or handouts, they just knew the words and wanted to say them.  

What I have not thought too much about is what Psalm 23 means for people during their lives, during healthy, strong, joyful and good times, at those moments when they are eager to help, searching for ways to make a difference and trying to share their faith.  In these moments this psalm is an invitation for us to care for each other like a shepherd cares for their sheep, like God cares for us.

This week at the ELCA National Youth Gathering I had a chance to see what it looks like when people care for each other.  There were 30,000 people gathered in Detroit, to share our faith, celebrate God’s love, be surrounded by thousands of other young, faithful people, to spend money, serve people in need and show a forgotten place that someone cares for them.  

 I saw people care for each other, surrounding people in need, supporting exhausted youth leaders, pastors and other adults , welcoming friends who are different, treating everyone as welcome, special to God and to us. In one moment, a leader on the trip was struggling to walk back to the shuttle bus, a member of our group spotted her and cared for her.  This is not just being nice, this is showing what it means to follow Jesus example and be shepherds to each other.

The city of Detroit was cared for too. As we ate, drank, talked, walked around, worshiped, served and prayed, people would honk, yell and scream thank you for being here. We were on the network news every night on every channel.  When we went to the neighborhoods that no one goes to, the places marked off as dangerous, abandoned, or hopeless, the people there were filled with surprise, love and hope.  This is not just being nice, this is showing what it means to follow Jesus example and be shepherds to each other.

Psalm 23 is an invitation to us to care for each other, to ask what does it look like when we approach others with the love and care that God approaches us with. It is an invitation for us to ask ourselves how can we bring the community, joy and hope of this gathering to our lives, church, home and neighborhood.