The Lutheran Hour
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"Whatever and Wherever, Thank You, Lord!"
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Text: Psalm 23
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It is a blessing to share God’s Word with you over the air-ways or via your screen or podcast this Canadian Thanksgiving. God exalt our giving thanks to Him this day and daily! When I shared with someone that I had been given Psalm 23 as the text for our Thanksgiving sermon, they said, “Really! Psalm 23 for Thanksgiving?!”
Truth is, when I think of Psalm 23 the first two images that pop into my mind are of a very dark valley and our Shepherd ever leading us. Each of us, in recalling a well-known or studied portion of Scripture, of which Psalm 23 ranks right near the top, has opinions and thoughts that arise in our grey matter. Pictures or emotions come to the fore, no doubt, depending on how we have previously experienced the text!
For me, Psalm 23 has always ranked as a funeral psalm, and having studied the text often in the past (interestingly enough most often in connection with a funeral) I guess that’s where I’ve always pictured that it fits best. However, I’ve already confessed to our Shepherd my sin of tunnel vision about this text and received from Him both forgiveness and the joy that comes from seeing just how truly thanks-bringing this text really is! When we open our ears and eyes to the fact that only with and in our Shepherd, the world’s one and only true Leader, no matter whatever comes our way, and wherever that is, we are blessed. Therefore: whatever and wherever, Thank You Lord!
As I opened my Bible and read, studied, and prayed over the text, and then proceeded to a few commentaries, God made His point very clear to me that Psalm 23 is in fact a thanksgiving text! The very first words I read after my initial study with Him were these from our brother Martin Luther. The beginning notes of our Lutheran Study Bible on Psalm 23 are as follows: “A psalm of thanks in which a Christian heart praises and thanks God for teaching him and keeping him on the right way, comforting and protecting him in every danger through His Word.”
Truly, haste and tunnel vision are not the best leg to stand on! A psalm of thanks in which a Christian heart praises and thanks God for teaching him. Thank You Lord for Your speedy teaching of me Your servant!
So Psalm 23, a psalm of thanksgiving on this Canadian Thanksgiving Sunday! And yet where best to thank the Lord of heaven and earth, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, outside of everyday and Thanksgiving Sunday, but at a funeral for one of the Lord’s sheep? Two weeks before I was first asked to prepare the message for today I was honored to be invited to join in leading a service of worship and praise of God in remembrance of my uncle, Mr. Allan Ivan “Al” Massier.
Really, my uncle is not my uncle but rather my godfather. However, I’ve always called him Uncle Al, and my godmother, Aunt Betty! They were blood family! Not biological blood family, but Jesus blood family! Friends and faithful servants of the Lord which my parents asked, more than a few decades ago, not only to keep me daily in their thoughts and prayers but always to remind me of my Savior! And Uncle Al and Aunt Betty did just that!
Aunt Betty told me after the funeral service that she and Uncle Al were very proud and thankful that I had followed God’s call into the ministry. They were true to their commitment to encourage me way past the rite of confirmation! Over the years they visited my wife and I, in the places where God had called me as pastor and even made the trek with my parents to the other side of the world to visit us when we served as missionaries in Ukraine.
Uncle Al had supplied some preferred passages for the day of his funeral. Being a strong man of God he chose Ephesians 2:8-10 and Psalm 23, and his pastor added the Great Commission as the Gospel in Matthew 28. The sermon title, “Life Along The Road,” Pastor Giese did a great job of leading all of us in seeing the path before us in life. The fact that as baptized children of God we were all placed on God’s road, and wherever we were on that path, we were called by Him to walk with Him and by His strength! Ted wove wove in the fact that Uncle Al was a civil engineer who built roads all over Saskatchewan, meeting Aunt Betty along the way. I heard how God led Uncle Al along the road, with his God-given gifts to direct others as an elder of their congregation and on the evangelism committee in the Central Region. I was blessed and thankful to be reminded how God steered and used Uncle Al in the lives of others, and in my own life.
When thinking of the road or path we walk upon, we might ask, “Where is God as we walk along the path of life, into whatever we may encounter? Is He really there?” That’s a good question. And our Shepherd well answers that question in our Thanksgiving Day psalm. Where is He? Well, He’s right here with us! After all where can one tending the sheep be, but with the sheep! Please hear where God says He is, as we walk through Psalm 23. And, as you see His location, thank Him!
“He makes me lie down in green pastures.” More than a few years ago, in order to make my infant son lie down and go to sleep, we would stay with him in his room for a bit and then move, baby monitor on, to another location in our home. Alleluia! He was a good sleeper, because my wife and I became parents later along on the path. To make my little lamb sleep I did not say, “Go upstairs and go to bed,” and then head out shopping or to mow the lawn or blow the snow off the driveway! We were there with him! And thank You Lord for restful green pastures, including Mosaic Stadium. But how does God know the pastures are green? Of course, He’s all-knowing. However, our text, in its context, has the Shepherd making, leading, restoring, comforting, preparing, serving, and anointing the sheep. Talk about a ministry of presence. He’s always right there with us.
“He leads me beside still waters.” If He’s not right there, how can He see that the waters are still? If He’s not right there with us but says, “Hey, sheep head over in that direction and in a while you’ll come to a river,” you and I, being the sheep we are, will almost assuredly not walk beside the waters but right into the waters! And if those waters are raging, well, wet wool, not only stinks, it sinks. Thank You Lord that You are near to lead, direct, and fully care for us!
“He restores my soul.” I’ve never done any restoring, other than restoring my green lawn to its proper length so that we can enjoy it and the flowers and the trees in the back yard, during a BBQ supper. I’ve watched a few car-restoring episodes with my son and in every single incident the car never restored itself! It takes a restorer to restore.
Truth is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not only in the creating business but also, and alleluia for this, They are in the redeeming (restoring business) and even beyond that in the sanctifying (making perfect business). Talk about restoring on a whole other level. Thank You Lord for Your restoration of each of us, Your chosen kids!
“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.”
Our Shepherd is with us to lead us along paths of His own making, paths of righteousness. Why? Because you and I never come by, find, or walk along such paths by our own making! That’s not at all in our power! These paths are not our own! It’s God who does this, and not only for our benefit but for His glory! For His Name’s sake, He leads us into blessing, to be with Him on paths and directions that will perfect us and prayerfully attract others so that His Name will be uplifted. And when that happens, your heart and mine, and prayerfully the hearts of others, whom yet do not even know their Shepherd and Saviour, will be eternally consecrated. If God is not there with us, in us, there is no way any path we take will be upright or joyful in any meaningful or lasting level.
Even, even in death, God is right beside us! He’s not a scaredy cat, saying, “See you on the other side of this whole thing in front of you. Hope you make it, and if so I’ll catch up with you.” If that’s the kind of God you think you have, you’ve got the wrong one! The One true God, the only God of the universe, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is afraid of nothing and in everything that might startle us or cause us to shake with fear, He says, “I have you in My ever-present nail-pierced hands. Fear not. You are Mine.”
Through God’s gift to us of saving faith, we know and believe that Jesus, even in death, His own death in our place, did not turn and run away from it. He stood there and took the stripes, hung there between heaven and earth, for you and me His sheep, and for every other sheep that has ever, or will ever, live. He did not run away even from His own death in the place of every single human being, and so forgave everyone everything and gives us what we do not deserve! Thank You, Jesus! Please forgive us for not seeing where You are in whatever we face every day.
Fact is, you and I often drift from the truth that God is right here to comfort us as our ever-present Shepherd, as only He can. And yet He’s at work in our lives with His tools of offense and defense. With a rod to beat off lions and wolves and, alleluia, once and for all stomp on the head of our evil foe, the deceiver snake! And with His staff He is ever directing us both away from cliffs and closer to the water of which we daily, daily, need to drink. Thank You Lord for Your constant care and nudging and Your almighty presence!
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” I don’t know about your table, but ours doesn’t prepare itself. Maybe I need a new table. Do meals just shazam appear on your table, and I’m not talking here about Hello, Fresh or skip the dishes. Or does your table set itself? Ours doesn’t. All our meals call for food to be prepared and a table to be set, a food preparer and a table setter. In our life as God’s sheep, He serves us. Did you get that? God Almighty, He is the One with us and caring for us, no matter what the company. In the presence of any danger, and there are an overabundance out there of those. He’s there, feeding and caring and well doing exactly what we need, shepherding us! Thank You, Lord.
“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 forever.” In spades the Lord has taught me, and prayerfully you also, that Psalm 23 is a thanksgiving psalm. He anoints our heads, which is the Old Testament way of saying He chooses us as kings. He makes us a part of His royal household! Man, are we blessed as His kids!
And it’s not like He does it on a skimpy budget! He gives us all that He has as our own! All that is His is ours! But please don’t get Him wrong! You and I can have everything and yet may have very, very, very little in this world, by comparison to so many others, which if we’re looking at them means we’re not looking at Him and we’re in danger of idolizing or worshipping others or stuff. Our very little, though we have so much, resting securely in faith in the One True God, is eternally more than anyone else will ever have without Him! No matter what we face with our Shepherd leading us, daily granting us, His kids, His goodness and mercy, He gives us, and not just at our death, but at this very instance, this moment, His dwelling! You have heaven! It yours from God as a gift through faith! Right now! Your purpose in life is not to get heaven. It’s already yours. And you “shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever!” Thank You, Jesus!
Yet, you and I so often wrongfully, sinfully, believe that we are our own masters, in control of it all! Making our own paths in life, off to strike it rich! Wow! Look at us human beings, so powerful, so much knowledge! Not. In fact, never on our own. As I write these words, fires barrel up upon Yellowknife, Hay River, and many other communities in Northwest Territories and toward Kelowna, and others in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. In so many places people have had to flee their homes for their lives. Did our fellow Canadians plan that? Did the people of Maui plan for their devastating fires? Do persons in cancer wards plan for their lives to become so burdened? In so many ways, we say and believe that we are in control of life along the path. We’re not. Truth is, we need help! And thanks be to God; He’s always right there to help us! Always right there, beside you!
As Paul shared with our Roman brothers and sisters, and us: “Let God be true though everyone were a liar.” May we never listen to sheep with starry eyes, wandering around, believing and bleating that we are the masters of own destiny! We, and all sheep, are not.
We are all sheep who need leading and help to keep us on His path and our heads out of the dark ditches we continuously find ourselves heading into.
Our Shepherd is not distant but present. Leading us through dark passages and whatever else we’ll face! The fires of our lives, those sicknesses and tragedies to self and others, He’s present for each of us to lean hard into. And when death comes, our own or that of a loved one, as Aunt Betty and family are facing, and so many, many others, we can lift our heads and hearts high and give thanks to the only One whom not only is assisting us but often carrying us along the path.
We thank You Lord for Your love in bringing us to Yourself at the quiet waters of Holy Baptism where You forgave us and made us Your own lambs. We thank You that all along the path You weekly offer us the holy food of Your Word and Your Sacraments, so that we are well fed and sustained, and therefore well guided by You as to where to best place our feet along the path.
We thank You, our Shepherd, for the truth that the path is never ours, that You are the One that leads us along paths of righteousness for Your Name’s sake. If it were up to us, and alleluia it’s not, we only would be wandering away into never-ending ditches. With Your rod and staff, please keep guiding us all the way home. Thank You, Lord!
Where is our Shepherd? With us! Making, leading, restoring, comforting, preparing, serving, and anointing us, His needy Sheep. He’s with you wherever you are and in whatever you’re facing. God truly has you. Thank Him! Alleluia and amen!
Reflections for October 8, 2023
Title: Whatever and Wherever, Thank You, LordMark Eischer: You’re listening to The Lutheran Hour. For FREE online resources, archived audio, and more, go to lutheranhour.org. Joining us now, here’s Lutheran Hour Speaker, Dr. Michael Zeigler.
Mike Zeigler: Thank you, Mark. We are visiting with Dr. Tim Saleska, professor and author of a commentary on the book of Psalms. We’ve been talking for a while about reading and listening to the psalms as individual Christians, meditating on them in our quiet times, it’s sometimes called.
Today I want to talk about how do we do this with other people in community? And one thing I’ve noticed that maybe I’ll admit, it’s sometimes frustrating when you do a Bible study on the psalms and you read a psalm and everybody has their own ideas about what it means and where the thoughts take them. And sometimes, I’m a systemized kind of thinker, and it feels a little chaotic, and I just wish people would stay on topic. For others who are like me, who feel that way, how would you counsel us? Those who feel frustrated in this way?
Tim Saleska: That’s the desire for interpretive control, which we all like, especially if we’re a pastor. And one of the things that is the brilliance of poetry is that it is the kind of text that gives rise to many different meanings and insights. In other words, it’s not written like a legal document in which the document is written to narrow interpretive possibilities. Poetry is written to increase them, and that’s something to rejoice in.
When people get too far off the track, obviously, we try to draw them back in. But again, the psalms don’t deliver golden nuggets of cognitive truth that we’re trying to dig out. Right? Neither do conversations. What they do is engage your mind and heart to see many different possibilities. It’s like looking at a work of art. Everyone sees something different. Great movie, everyone sees something different. And you start talking about it and pointing it out and you learn from each other and grow that way. And that’s one of the delights of it, I think.
Mike Zeigler: In one of our earlier conversations, you had us think about this discussion in some sense with the psalm and being honest about where we can identify where we can’t identify. And maybe different people in the group will, of course, they’re going to identify with different parts.
Tim Saleska: The psalms are the prayers and cries of God’s people as we wait for the Lord to deliver on His promises, and the waiting gets long. So in a sense, we’re all in a vulnerable position. We all have our weaknesses, we all have our sins, and those are the kinds of things that the psalm can help us articulate and think about together in the light of the Gospel and who we are as God’s people.
Mike Zeigler: And of course as Christians studying the Bible, we are going to want to see how things point to Jesus, lead to Jesus, to the bigger story of Scripture. As a leader, how do you help people start to make those connections?
Tim Saleska: So I think that that’s important. I always have to tell people, don’t just jump to Jesus, because it stops the conversation. So if you say, just to take this classic example, the Lord is my Shepherd. Oh, that’s Jesus. I’m not saying that’s not true, but why does David say that in the Old Testament? See, there’s a whole tapestry of passages in which Yahweh functions as Israel’s Shepherd that tells them something about who their God is, so that when you get to Jesus, who calls Himself the Good Shepherd, He’s not just using an image from first-century Israel that makes sense to people because they knew about shepherds and sheep. The metaphor is informed by the Old Testament, tells us who Jesus is and it’s light. You bypass all of that when you always make this jump to Jesus. But some people want to do that because then you don’t have to think about the psalm anymore. Oh, the Lord’s my Shepherd, that’s Jesus, etc. Let’s move on. And you miss the—
Mike Zeigler: We found the interpretation.
Tim Saleska: So, the psalm isn’t challenging at all when actually it can be deeply challenging.
Mike Zeigler: Bible study is something that we think of Christians normally doing. What about reading the psalms with a person who’s not in the Christian faith, maybe has a different religious faith, or maybe no religious faith at all? How could that work? Do you think you could read the psalms with someone like that and how would that work?
Tim Saleska: I do think that because experiences that they reflect are common to humans in general. There are counselors who read through psalms because it helped articulate people’s experiences, give voice to the inner landscape of their hearts, so to speak, that they needed to articulate.
Mike Zeigler: Well, thank you for talking through this with us. You’re helping me not be frustrated when there’s no interpretive control and to celebrate how the psalm is impacting the people that I’m reading them with.
Tim Saleska: You’re very welcome, Michael. It’s been a pleasure.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House) Used by permission.