A letter from Thomas Goetz in Japan
May 2011
Psalm 23 - A Psalm of David - 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.
Message
With the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami now two months old, news about it is becoming less frequent, but not less important. The Dai-ichi Nuclear Power plant in Fukushima is not in the headlines as much as it was. The radioactive iodine, Iodine 131, is now 1/64 as potent as it was on March 11. More and more scientists are suggesting that simply diluting the waste water into the ocean is perhaps the best solution. It is known as the "Dilution Solution." The impact on fish? Minimal. In that part of the ocean, fish that are popular for eating, such as tuna, tend to swim past or through that area. The chances of people contracting sickness from radioactive seafood is more media hype than a real risk. Since March 11 other events have happened in the world. The leader of Al Qaida, Osama Bin Laden, is dead. The U.S. government is at risk of beginning to go bankrupt, and several Middle Eastern nations have new, and hopefully more democratic, governments. With all of these changes, one might think that the world is out of balance with itself. That may be an easy observation, but I have some news for you. It is always out of balance with itself. Where is the peace?
During times such as these, we might mistakenly think that humanity has never seen such calamity. I have news for you. The writer of today's psalm, David, knew very well that his world was out of balance with itself. In David's day, if the Hittites from the north weren't causing trouble, the Phoenicians were. If the Babylonians were not gaining greater control over the inland trade routes, the Egyptians were driving up the price of grain. How could a small country like Israel survive? What did Israel have? The Jordan River? It is nothing compared to the Tigris and Euphrates. The Temple in Jerusalem? Oh, come on! One word: pyramids. Israel's one God? Ha! The Mesopotamians have many, if not hundreds of gods.
For David, his way of keeping his own balance within a calamitous world can be seen in today's reading. But first, who was David? He was one of the kings of Israel mentioned in the Bible's Old Testament. He was a real person with real thoughts and insights just like you and me. He had his likes and dislikes and he too saw his world in need of help. When he was young, he was a shepherd. Shepherds are people who take care of sheep. In David's day, there were no wire fences. The open grassland was a common shared space. Other shepherds and cattlemen would use the same grassy rangeland. This might be an ideal setting for a worship service bulletin. You, with your sheep and dogs, going here, over there, down to a river, sleeping under the stars… No thieves, no bandits, no invading army; nope, they did not have those in the good old days. Or did they? In fact, it was more normal than not.
David believed in God and he believed that God was good and that the world was a good place. Whatever bad there may be comes from people and nature. Now, let us look at Psalm 23.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." This phrase always confused me. It seems to say two totally unrelated things. The Lord is my shepherd—meaning that God is the one who takes care of me—but "I shall not want" somehow sounds indifferent. It really refers to being content. The word "want" refers to the things that we need or desire. During weddings, such as the recent royal wedding, the priest asked William and Katherine to be each other's spouse in good times and bad times, sickness and health, and in plenty and in want. Here "want" refers to times when you are poor, can't afford to buy food, can't pay the monthly rent. I doubt William and Katherine will ever be in want, but David's main point is that he will be just fine, as long as the Lord is his guide. And what does God do for David? God makes David lie down in green pastures; he leads him beside still waters; he restores his soul. He leads him in right paths for his name’s sake. This kind of relationship is greater and stronger than what any human can do for another. David has such confidence he says that even though he walks through the darkest valley, he will fear no evil, for God is with him; his rod and his staff comfort him. What is a rod and staff? Rods and staves are used while hiking or shepherding. They are long poles; you can use them for just about anything. If a wolf is prowling, you can display your staff as a show of force to the wolf, as if to say, "Back off! Get your food somewhere else!" Or, you could use your staff to gently tap or nudge your sheep to stay together more.
For David, God does so much. God prepares a table before him in the presence of his enemies; he anoints or covers his head with oil; his cup overflows. Basically David feels protected and rich with God as his lifelong guide. At this point I must agree with David. My parents were Christian and raised my bothers and me in a Christian home. While they were not perfect as parents, and we were not perfect children, they did teach us that God is a lifelong friend, one whom you can talk to during times of stress and need, and someone with whom you can rejoice along with your family and friends during times of celebration and excitement. But next we come to a personal moment. For this next phrase, I imagine David sitting at his evening campfire singing this psalm to himself. Then, reaching to his dogs, smiling at them as they lick his face, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Many Biblical scholars believe that Goodness and Mercy were the names of his shepherd dogs. Isn't this a wonderful picture? And when you think of it, Goodness and Mercy really can follow us like loyal dogs, only if we choose to own them in our lives. In David's world, a world of sheep thieves and cattle bandits on the open grass ranges, he had every reason to regard God as some kind of mental idea. But instead he saw that in the midst of an out-of-balance world was a great and wonderful God and that being with God was like living in a house. "And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long."
So this passage when seen again asks us more questions than we might think.
What really matters in life? What really matters in this world? Is it who has the best this or the richest that? Or does life have another dimension that will be entirely missed if we keep God out of the picture and only concentrate on material things? In the third chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Nicodemus about God's love, and a careful reading of John 3 will lead you to wonder if Nicodemus ever understood. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not die, but have everlasting life.
Let us pray. . . . Amen.
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 148
The 2012 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 200
Write to Thomas Goetz
Give to Thomas Goetz's sending and support
