Pastor Mary Gilthvedt
Easter 4B
April 21, 2024
The Lord is MY Shepherd
Psalm 23:1
A volcano erupted in Iceland in April 2010. Ash from the volcano affected air travel all over Europe. People from all walks of life, from high officials to the everyday person, were stranded and had to make alternative travel plans. The cost to individuals and to the airline industry ran in the billions of dollars.
Fortunately, the rural area close to the volcano was lightly populated. And, wind patterns kept the volcanic ash away from the densely populated capital of Reykjavik. However, there was still a very serious health risk for the people and livestock who lived in the area. Inhaling the particulates contained in the ash could lead to fluoride poisoning.
An Associated Press article described how local farmers were forced to drive through the dense fog to locate and round up their cattle. They had to “put the livestock in the barn, block all the windows, and bring them clean food and water as long as the earth was contaminated.” According to an Icelandic farmer, “The animals like the salty taste of the ash, so even if there’s just a bit they would be in danger.”
Jesus, our shepherd, is like those Icelandic farmers. He attempts to gather us up and keep us safe from threats that face us, especially ones of which we are attracted to the taste. The Lord is my shepherd.
A young man who had grown up in the city, ended up serving his first call as a pastor in western North Dakota. It was a small rural congregation. At his first rehearsal for the Sunday School Christmas program, he assigned the sheep. Within a few minutes, a half-dozen sheepy children began wandering around during the middle of rehearsal, crawling under the altar and walking out the door. Finally the pastor stopped the chaos and said, “Stop moving. Pay attention. What are you doing?” One girl, with a surprised look on her face, replied innocently, “We’re sheep.”
Those children lived on farms and they knew sheep. They knew that sheep are not as white as snow and that they do not follow Little Bo Peep wherever she goes. Jesus knew sheep. He knew they were easily lost. He knew they were defenseless before wolves. He knew they are in great need of a shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd.
We are comforted that Jesus is our shepherd who takes care of us. He is a shepherd who makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me by still waters. Sometimes, though, life does not present us green pastures or still waters. We wonder where our shepherd is.
Rev. John F. Chaplain wrote a poem that raised such questions. The poem is entitled, “He leadeth Me.”
He leadeth me,
In pastures green? No, not always,
Sometimes He who knoweth best
in kindness leadeth me in weary ways
Where heavy shadows be;
Out of the sunshine warm and soft and bright,
Out of the sunshine into the darkest night,
I oft would yield to sorrow and to fright
Only for this: I know He holds my hand.
So, whether led in green or desert land
I trust, although I cannot understand.
He leadeth me.
Beside still waters? No, not always so.
Oft times the heavy tempest round me blow,
And o’er my soul the waves and billows go.
But when the storm beats wildest, and I cry
Aloud for help, the Master standeth by
And whispers to my soul: “Lo, it is I.”
Above the tempest wild I hear him say:
“Beyond the darkness lies the perfect day
In every path of thine I lead the way.”
So whether on the hilltops, high and fair
I dwell, or in the sunless valleys, where
The shadows lie—what matter? He is there.
And more than this; where’er the pathway lead
He gives to me no helpless, broken reed,
But His Own hand, sufficient for my need.
So where He leads me I can safely go.
And in the blest hereafter I shall know
Why in His wisdom He hath led me so.\
The Lord is my shepherd.
It was March 1850. Light snow was falling in the Midwest prairie. A circuit rider preacher stopped at a small log cabin where little Timmy was dying from diphtheria. The preacher asked Timmy if he knew Psalm 23. Timmy started to recite the Psalm that he had learned in 2nd grade. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
The pastor told him that he was saying it too fast. So, Timmy tried to say it slower. Then the pastor decided to teach him how to say the 23rd psalm in a different way. He asked Timmy to count the words on his fingers. “Beginning with the thumb say, ‘The Lord is my….” When the pastor said the word “my” he held the fourth finger of his hand. He explained, “Your parents wear their wedding rings on the 4th finger of their hands. This is the finger of love.” So, as Timmy would recite “The Lord is MY Shepherd,” and grab his fourth finger, he would be reminded that the Lord is a loving, personal shepherd. “The Lord is MY Shepherd.” Timmy agreed he would recite the psalm in such a way. The pastor then said goodbye and went on his way.
When he returned to see Timmy in the warmth of spring, he noticed there was a mound of upturned earth with a cross on it in the backyard. The traveling preacher realized that Timmy had passed away. As he visited with Timmy’s parents, they described his final night. They had kissed him good night. When his mother checked on him in the morning, she realized he had died during the night. But something caught her eye that seemed strange. Timmy was holding on to his 4th finger. She asked the pastor if he knew what that meant. The pastor could only answer with tear-filled eyes.
The Lord is MY shepherd. Jesus the Good Shepherd knows us by name. We listen to his voice and follow him. Nothing can separate us from his love. This is his promise to his sheep.
