There is an odd practice of referring to psalms like this one as evidence of the obstinacy or sinfulness of humanity. \u201cHumans are like sheep,\u201d goes the argument, \u201cstubborn, unintelligent, and in constant need for a shepherd (God) to prevent them from hurting themselves.\u201d Psalm 23, however, doesn\u2019t naturally lend itself to such a disparaging view of humankind. Instead, the metaphor of sheep and shepherd is meant to evoke the kind of contentment among its hearers that enables them to confess with the Psalmist, \u201cI shall not want\u201d; the providence of God for his flock puts them at ease, they are not lacking anything. The imagery shifts from God as shepherd to God as host, one who \u201cprepares a table\u201d and provides more than enough to drink. This God\u2019s care for his people engenders the author\u2019s hopes for the future, and encourages his commitment to continually worship in the Temple \u201call the days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
It shouldn\u2019t be a surprise to anyone when I say that we are living in an age that has thoroughly rejected miracle stories (unless, for some reason, they involve a child, a near-death experience, and a heavenly vision!). Perhaps in encountering Peter\u2019s miracle as moderns, our belief might be aided by zooming out a bit and to see part of what the act might mean, instead of merely trying to grit our teeth and believe it\u2019s resurrection claim (though this may be where some of us have to start). In Tabitha\u2019s very real resurrection we see the revolutionary restructuring of the social order that the Church is called to perform and embody in the world. Tabitha has given her life to supporting a group of widows, those on the bottom rung of the strata. She dies, and the world carries on as it normally does. But that is not how things go in the kingdom of God. God cares for the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He exalts the lowly and meek. Like the prophets of old, Peter demonstrates that care for the \u201cleast of these\u201d is among God\u2019s chief concerns. Pope Francis recently hit the nail on the head, \u201cHow can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Like Psalm 23, this apocalyptic picture features God in the role of shepherd, where God \u201cshelters\u201d God\u2019s people, eternally assuaging their hunger and thirst, protecting them from the scorching heat of the sun, wiping away every tear from their eyes, and leading them to the springs of the waters of life.<\/p>\n\n
Unlike Psalm 23, those whom God shepherds have \u201ccome out of the great affliction,\u201d they have endured the sufferings common to those living under the reign of the beast in John\u2019s vision. Christians reading this weeks lectionary texts together (Ps. 23, Rev. 7:9-17) are reminded that God\u2019s provision for them (and God\u2019s ultimate defeat of their oppressors) does not necessarily exempt them from suffering in this life. Most of us will not face the kind of societal ostracization or violence as John\u2019s audience on account of our faith in Christ, but whatever our circumstances, it should come as a great comfort to us that God\u2019s restoration of all things has already begun.<\/p>\n\n
Like Psalm 23 and Revelation 7, John once again shows us a picture of the Divine Shepherd, but this time, that picture includes Jesus, who is one with the Father, from whom he received his \u201csheep.\u201d Jesus\u2019 opponents on Solomon\u2019s Porch do not belong to his flock (they don\u2019t believe in him), and thus cannot understand his words or deeds. Jesus\u2019 flock hear his voice, know him, follow him, receive eternal life from him, will never perish, and cannot be snatched out of his hand. \u201cWolves\u201d may come, but the Good Shepherd protects them; God fights off their enemies. This is not to say that Christians are immune from apostasy (leaving the flock of their own accord), but it does emphasize God\u2019s protection for God\u2019s sheep, be they persecuted for their faith in the first century, or \u201cswayed by every wind of doctrine\u201d in the twenty-first.<\/p>\n\n
Psalm 23 There is an odd practice of referring to psalms like this one as evidence of the obstinacy or sinfulness of humanity. \u201cHumans are like sheep,\u201d goes the argument, \u201cstubborn, unintelligent, and in constant need for a shepherd (God) to prevent them from hurting themselves.\u201d Psalm 23, however, doesn\u2019t naturally lend itself to such…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201221,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23,22,52,3],"tags":[198],"class_list":["post-766690","bible_study","type-bible_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-studies","category-easter","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-easter-4c"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":23,"label":"Bible Studies"},{"value":22,"label":"Easter"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":198,"label":"Easter 4C"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bible_study"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":951766,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766690\/revisions\/951766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}