HELLO!

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.

In preparation for the funeral helped lead today for my friend Mike I researched Psalm 23, one of the readings selected by Mike’s wife Daphne. What jumped out at me were the insights of Biblical scholar Kelly Murphy. Here are some of her revelations on this most familiar passage: The Psalm begins with a faithful and hopeful claim: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” The Hebrew verb haser, translated as “want,” is the same verb found in Deuteronomy 2:7: “Surely the Lord your God has blessed you in all your undertakings; he knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing” (think also of Nehemiah 9:21, “Forty years you sustained them in the wildness so that they lacked nothing”). To be sure, life wasn’t always easy—but it was life. Those 40 years might have seen a lot of grumbling and complaining, but they also saw manna free from heaven, the birth of a new generation, and eventual progress to the Promised Land. God cared for the wandering people—and they lacked nothing. This God will lead you to the Promised Land, providing you green pastures (food), still waters (drink), and a straight path (protection). Moreover, Psalm 23 serves as a reminder to live—even in the face of danger and misfortune, even in the shadows of death that might surround us—and to know that in living, we will be sustained.

As I reflected on Mike’s good life, his legacy of love and his deep peace that he shared everywhere I went, I commented on how appropriate this text was to be read at his funeral. Mike knew what we “wanted”, what we needed, in the midst of the “shadow of death” (from the moment we are born we begin to die) Mike found life, affirmed life, shared life. Those who knew him well knew his insight, this gift, this offering.

I feel blessed to have known him. Peace, Kevin