Beyond the Patio

CARE, GUIDANCE AND PRESENCE
John 10:1-10 and Psalm 23

A little child was drawing a picture in Sunday School. The teacher asked what he was drawing. The child said that he was drawing a picture of God. The teacher replied, “..but no one really knows what God looks like.” The child answered, “After I draw this picture they will.”

We don’t know what the child’s picture was like, however, in today’s Gospel and the Psalm we have a powerful picture of God presented to us – that of a Shepherd.

The image of God as a Shepherd has inspired countless numbers of people throughout the ages. The 23rd Psalm The Lord is My Shepherd has been one of the most memorized pieces of Scripture next to the Lords Prayer. The passages which present the image of Shepherd in the Bible have brought comfort and hope to the sick, peace to the dying, confidence and strength to the bereaved. Over thirty years as an Anglican priest when I make hospital visits to the sick and dying, the piece of scripture most requested for me to read at the bedside has been the 23rd Psalm.

I remember visiting a woman a number of times in the hospital throughout a period of about a year and a half. I went in to see her one day and the family had all gathered because they had been told that she was close to death. The room was crowded but no one was talking about her situation. They were talking about what was going on in the community, the weather and crops. I left for awhile but came back to see her after the family had gone for something to eat. When I was alone with her, she said, “you know, I’m going to die”. I wanted to say, “Oh no! you’ll get through this. You’re going to live a lot longer”, but I thought better of it and just said, “Yes, I know!” Then I added the question, “How are you feeling about that?” She said, “Yes, I’m ready to die. I’m prepared”. I asked, “What can I do that will be helpful to you?” She said, “Read to me the 23^rd Psalm”. I read it to her. There was a tremendous peace experienced in that room as we both felt the presence of Christ in our midst. She peacefully died a short time later.

Why is that? I believe it is because the image of the Good Shepherd presents to us a God who love us, cares for us and leads us in all the circumstances of life – in our sickness and health, in our joys and sorrows, in the midst of tragedy, and in at the point of death. God is the Shepherd bringing us comfort, healing our wounds, seeking the lost, guiding us beyond the terrors of life that could well defeat us. He is the one who calls us each by name.

Some may say that it is old fashioned to think of God as a Shepherd but that image and understanding of God as one who cares, one whose voice we hear deep within us saying, “I love you, you are important to me and I will be with you always” is needed in our time as much as any time. A number of years ago, Ann Landers wrote in one of her columns and was repeated since she first wrote it:

Since I began writing this column, I’ve learned plenty – including most meaningfully what Leo Rosten had in mind when he said, “Each of us is a little lonely, deep inside, and cried to be understood.” I have learned how it is with stumbling tortured people of the world who have nobody to talk to. The fact that the column has been a success underscores for me at least, the central tragedy of our society – the disconnectedness, the insecurity, the fear that bedevils, cripples, and paralyzes so many of us. I have learned that financial success, academic achievement, and social or political status open no doors to peace mind or inner security. We are all wanderers, like sheep, on this planet.

We may be like sheep and we are also like sheep without a Shepherd. That is why I think that the Lord as my Shepherd is so powerful – as powerful today as it was in times gone by.
David Livingstone, after 16 years in Africa, said to students at the University of Glasgow:

“Shall I tell you what sustained me in my exiled years? That was the words of the Good Shepherd: ‘Lo, I am with youalways?’ “

Today in this service the scripture that have been read point us to the care, guidance, and presence of a loving God.

I urge you to take that image with you as you leave the service. You will find it a present help in times of sorrow, a hope beyond your imagination, and a sustaining power throughout your whole life, so that you will be able to repeat with David Livingstone:

Shall I tell you what sustained me throughout all my years? It was the words of the Good Shepherd: “Lo, I am with you always”

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