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Tyndale University presents a series of recorded chapel services from Tyndale's very own faculty and guest speakers.
Dean Sweetman, thank you for your invitation to fill in for Vijay, which I could never do. My parents worship at his church and they speak of how incredible a pastor, teacher, speaker he is. Let me do say, George, your prayers always are so spectacular. And thank you. Dr. Michell and Dr. Davis. This music is spectacular as well. I couldn't quite see all of the people that were in the band, but I imagined there was an emerging Billy Joel on the piano and Mark Knopfler over on the guitar. A couple of bass players playing an upside-down Paul McCartney bass but the singers like like Mandy Botanico, up here and Keith Richard over here. Really, really fabulous. And I appreciate it ever so much.
Dean Sweetman asked me to read a Psalm, which I will do, and I'll make some comments on the Psalm. A few years ago, a friend of mine told me about an app that one could get that would aid them in their Bible reading. I downloaded that app, and I used it for about three years. And then I picked it up again in this season of Lent. The app is called Laudate. It's an app that links to the lectionary readings for each day. And I remembered a couple of weeks ago when Dr. Sarah Han talked about her Bible reading regimen with her daughter. I thought about the one that I'm using. And it uses a version of scripture that's different than I'm used to, which helps me, because it tweaks phrases and makes them pop out. The reading yesterday was from the 23rd Psalm, familiar to all of us, loved by Christians and Jews, because it conveys an entirely wonderful image of our God as a shepherd. And so listen as I read these familiar words, I'm not reading from my app, or the translation that it uses, but I am reading from King James English, slightly modified. Listen for God's word.
"The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the past of righteousness for his names sake. Yea, 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely and good. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen." This is the word of the Lord.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll way back in 1865, the math professor at Oxford, after rowing a boat for about five kilometers with a friend, and friend's three daughters and regaling them with stories. One of the little girls was Alice. Years later, he wrote through the looking glass, as a sequel. And in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland there are funny sayings, quips, eccentric characters, Mad Hatter's, Marsh hares, Queen of Hearts, and one of my favourites is the Cheshire Cat. The Cheshire cat says something that I think is a wonderful lens by which we might view this very familiar Psalm. Cheshire cat says, "They have a temper, some of them, particularly verbs. They're the proudest. Adjectives and nouns you can do anything you like with, but not verbs." I was introduced to this quotation by a professor of mine, Dr. Klaus Bockmuehl in his course, on the doctrine of sin and Christ, the Redeemer. A German scholar, who came to English as a second language, and while on summer vacation, he read the English literature that he had not read as a child, including "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass". And he came across that phrase, "Verbs. They have a temper, adjectives, nouns, you can do anything you'd like with." And he looked at how we often do things related to Christ by looking at his titles, Prophet, Priest, King, Saviour, friend, Lord, but he said, It's the verbs that really tell us about who Jesus is.
"When he saw the crowd, He had compassion on them." That verb "seeing" caused Christ to act, and to bring healing, to bring deliverance. Verbs have a temper, Adjectives nouns, we can do what we like. The psalm depicts, our God, the Lord, a noun, as a shepherd, could be a good shepherd, could be a lazy Shepherd, could be a dishonest Shepherd, an unfaithful shepherd. And the Scripture gives us examples of many of those, but the verbs tell us what kind of Shepherd this is. He makes me lie down. I don't know about you, but me, sometimes, I don't want to lie down. I want to do stuff. I have my tasks that I've got to complete. And then I fall into bed. Sometimes when I visit people in the hospital, and they're not happy about it, I remind them, "He makes me lie down. He leads me beside quiet waters. He leads me in paths of righteousness. He restores my soul." Years ago, like many of you, I read, Philip Keller's, "A shepherd looks at Psalm 23". And Keller described a condition of sheep that I later saw was true. He described a condition of a sheep calling it a cast sheep, where a sheep because of the weight of its fur, and the dew and the wet and the muck, oftentimes becomes top heavy. And the sheep flips over on his back, kinda like those, those bugs you see in your garden, or maybe in the bathtub here in residence, I don't know. But those bugs, that they turn over and their legs are flailing and you have to, with a paper or something, lift them back up again. And Philip Keller, says that a cast sheep, if it's left on its back, eventually will succumb to the elements, will eventually die. Which for a shepherd, is a big deal, because sheep are expensive, not just now with the cost of groceries going up. But if you ever order lamb at the Keg, it's like 60 bucks for just one order. It's an expensive proposition to lose the sheep. And so the shepherd comes along and nudges it back up onto its feet, restoring it, so that it can go about its way. And sometimes we all get flung on our back. Ultimately, we, as we go into Holy Week, remember that through the resurrection of Christ, He does provide the means for restoration for our soul. He restores my soul. He prepares a table, He annoints my head with oil.
This Good Shepherd does good things, makes me, leads me, guides me, restores me, prepares me, anoints me, all the things that I need. We often talk about God, which is what happens in this psalm. When the psalmist talks about God, as a shepherd, leading, guiding, restoring, anointing. But if you notice, the seper, Shepherd right in the middle, starts not talking about God, and starts talking to God. "Even when I walk through the valley of deep darkness, I will not fear for you are with me." You're with me. The promise given to Joshua "Be strong and courageous for the Lord, your God is with you" is David's assurance in the midst of the valley of deep darkness, was the words of the risen Christ as He sent out his traveling companions, commissioning them to make disciples and reminding them "I'll be with you to the end of the age". We usually think of that valley of the shadow at the end of life, of death. And as Dean Sweetman mentioned, the 16 year old, that was stabbed, or the six killed at covenant, Presbyterian church and school down in the states, or the two police officers who were laid to rest in Edmonton. And almost always, we read this psalm in circumstances of death. And it's appropriate. "Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me." But you know, as well as I do, there's so many times in life that we say "I wish I was dead." The circumstances so, so overwhelming, that we feel like my heart's broken, I'm overwhelmed.
When you fail a course. Or horror of horrors, if you fail your honours thesis, that's a valley of deep darkness. That person that you thought loved you says, I'm breaking up with you. Or that person that you hoped would ask you out to that, Isn't there some kind of event in the next couple of weeks? And they don't. And you think this is awful, or you call home? And your parents say "we're getting a divorce". That's deep darkness. You pick up the phone after meeting with your doctor. And the doctor says I need to see you, because you have cancer. Those are deep darknesses. Parents. You stumble into your kids bedroom, the teenager that you used to love, and you pull out a drawer and you find that stash of "stuff". And you think, where did we go wrong? That's a valley of deep darkness.
And the psalmist talks to God, His good shepherd, reminding himself you are with me, in the midst of this valley of deep darkness, and like Gandalf, in "The Lord of the Rings", your rod and your staff comfort me. You remember that wonderful scene. I've always wanted to play Gandalf, and so I asked my children if I could be called, rather than granddad could I be "grandalf" and they said no. But you remember that scene? "You shall not pass." Rod and staff, they give me comfort, our Good Shepherd, armed to the teeth, warding off all evil, taking on all comers, whatever that circumstance may be.
So talk about God, do theology to be sure. But in the midst of your deep valleys, talk to your god, because that God is a good shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Amen.
Let us go in peace. May the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God, the fellowship of God's Spirit, rests with each one of us, now and forever. Amen.