“The Lord Is My Shepherd,” And How *Weekend Open Thread*

Earlier this week, I was looking at the lectionary readings for this Sunday (4/21/24), and I was really struck by the selections. “Shepherd” was a resounding theme in the readings, especially the Psalm and the Gospel readings.

I will get to that in a moment, but I just want to share that, personally, last weekend was a beautiful one in many ways laying my sister to rest, a good one seeing all of my family in one place for the first time in years, and an emotionally draining one.

The service at the Episcopal Church my sister attended for decades was lovely, the performances by the choir especially. They sang some pieces the organist told me my sister particularly liked , one of which (in Latin) that moved me to tears. And it was a Eucharistic service, so that was powerful, as it always is. After the wonderful reception the church provided, the family and close friends went outside to the Memorial Garden. My sister had made two requests: one to have her ashes interred at the Memorial Garden, and at the church where our family plot is.

Well, at the Memorial Garde at her church, they made her spot as close to the choir and organ as they could. Their thoughtfulness at picking this spot brought me to tears, then and now. What a wonderful place for her ashes to be.

Her priest was so kind and generous, allowing me to take the pulpit to give the eulogy/homily for my sister (and his kindness extended by telling me I was welcome to preach there any time. I was/am honored, and humbled, by that).

The next day, my sister was interred beside my mother in the family plot (one of them). I opened the service, more informal this time, and invited people to tell of special things they remembered about my sister. It was a time of laughter, tears, and heart as we heard how my sister was with different members of the family, things we didn’t know, or may have forgotten. After the service and time spent walking around the cemetery, we went to the funeral home and had a nice luncheon. It gave us time to just be in the same space, to go from group to group of family members, and to reconnect. It was a gift, a total gift beyond measure. And I am grateful to have been a part of it all. (My sister and her husband are long time members of Star Fleet, the Star Trek club. That’s how they met, actually. This urn seemed the perfect one to honor that decades’ long enjoyment.)

And now to a couple of the readings for this weekend. You will see how very timely the Psalm reading is in relation to a funeral service. This one is routinely used in churches for such a time. I imagine we all know it well. Indeed, it is Psalm 23:

 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Perhaps it is because I just recently laid my sister to rest (though I know she is Home with God in His Heavens, and reunited with my family gone Home before her), this just brought tears to my eyes. It is such a beautiful, powerful Psalm.

Just like this rendition of this Psalm song:

Oh, my – isn’t that just a gorgeous rendition of this Psalm that has essentially been imprinted on our hearts? Love it.

And then there is the Gospel lesson for this weekend. This is another one I find so powerful and moving. It is from the Gospel of John 10:11-18:

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

I just love this passage, don’t you? That Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep? I don’t know if it’s an imagery that’s easier for those of us who grew up in days where many of us were rural, families farmed in one way or the other than for most people today. You know, either a big farm or what is now called a “hobby farm,” but back then was for families to feed themselves. We had livestock nearby if we didn’t own it ourselves. That was just normal for us back then. But today? I don’t know. I would hope they can, we can, I can…

To prove that point, I grew up close to my grandmother, and she had some sheep. The ram was picked up every Friday afternoon by a bunch of teenage boys with a pickup truck. Nothing nefarious – the ram was the mascot for a local high school and it was football season.

One of my fondest memories of those days was bottle feeding a little lamb. The smell of it, how soft it was, how sweet and precious it was as it took the bottle and let me hold it. Such a great memory of that little lamb.

I wonder if that’s how Jesus sees us? As sweet little lambs who need His protection, His feeding us, holding us, loving us, and delighting in us? I think so. I think that’s exactly how He sees us. When we jump around playing, He smiles. When we get into trouble and He needs to rescue us, He is there. Always the Good Shepherd.

I am reminded of the Christian artist, Vanessa Horabuena. Here is a short reel of her depicting this very thing:

Even in the moments when Jesus is undergoing the Passion, He still holds us. In our sorrow, in our grief, in our pain, He holds us. In our joy, our hope, our delight, and our love for Him, He holds us.  Always.

Our Father, our God, our Jesus, is our Good Shepherd. He knows us and we know Him. We know His voice. We are His flock, and He is “The Good Shepherd”:

Thank God He does…

That’s it for me, my dear friends. Please feel free to discuss whatever you have on your minds in the Comments below.

This is the Weekend Open Thread.

Tags: John 10:11-18, Memorial Garden, Psalm 23, The Good Shepherd, Vanessa Horabuena