When we remove God from the equation

I ain't all that

The Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A, April 30, 2023.

Psalm 23

In a conversation a couple of weeks ago it was mentioned that a good sermon comes from one’s personal experiences and how they relate to the scriptures of the day. Please fasten your seat belts, place your seat in its upright position, and stow your tray table folks, we’re going for a ride!

We last visited Psalm 23 on the Fourth Sunday of Lent and here we are again some seven weeks later revisiting the Psalm. Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known Psalms and is used as an example of God’s caring for us, his creation. The “Valley of the Shadow of Death” is a real place that still exists today. It runs from Jericho to Jerusalem and was the travel route back then. It was the hangout for thieves who robbed unsuspecting travelers and is believed to be the location of the parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s a perfect reference because everyone knew it back then. The rod and staff were typical Shepard’s tools. The rod was to fend off predators who would prey on the sheep and the staff was used to guide and rescue them. The crook at the end of Shepard’s staff was used to retrieve wayward sheep and bring them back to the flock. The image of God protecting us. The analogy of God as a Shepard is interesting since Shepards are the lowest class of citizens, yet the author, King David, was a Shepard himself when he killed Goliath. Shepards are relatable, omnipotent beings, not so much.

In military circles, there’s an alternative to Psalm 23 and it goes something like this. “Yea though I walk through The Valley of the Shadow of Death I shall fear no evil, for I am the biggest, baddest, insert expletive here, in the, another expletive here, Valley. We’ve removed God in favor of our own perceived power. In the Military we are taught how to “turn it on” to “Be all you can be” as the Army recruiting slogan said when I went in. And I thought I was. In my first Emergency Medical Technician class we were told that there’d be that one call, that all that would define our careers. That “career call” that we would look back on in retirement and say, wow I survived that. I had three in my first ten years.  I had several more after that before I retired with 37 years of combined service in the Army, EMS, and Emergency Management. God doesn’t give up on us. If you don’t get it the first time, he keeps letting you know.

Every Easter Sunday we renew our Baptismal Covenant and at each charge we respond, “I will with God’s help.” Why? Because we ain’t all that. We need God’s help in every aspect of our lives. We will go astray, that’s a guarantee. We will be tested by situations we cannot bear alone. That’s our human experience. When we try to be the biggest and baddest we will fail miserably. We need God’s help.

As we celebrate the death and resurrection of God’s Son and move towards Ascension Sunday and Pentecost when Jesus returns to sit at the right hand of God the Father and God sends the Holy Spirit to be our guide let us remember to take the time to listen to that still small voice. We are not the biggest and baddest so turn to God for help, God is and always will be our loving Father who will protect and care for us, if only we accept it.

Amen