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The Lord is My Shepherd

March 19, 2023

1 Samuel 16:1-13  |  Psalm 23  |  Ephesians 5:8-14  |  John 9:1-41

Lent is a time when our focus tends to be on repentance, fasting, self-denial and meditation.  Combining that with the current events and social discord that often permeate our daily lives, it is not surprising that the time of Lent sometimes may leave us with a less-than-uplifting feeling.

However, the readings for today contrast that sentiment with encouraging messages that envelop us with light, optimism and comfort.

In 1 Samuel, the Lord sends Samuel to the house of Jesse to find the Lord’s divinely chosen one, David, to become the king over Israel. The Lord instructs Samuel not to choose by outward appearances as mortals do, but rather to look on the heart for true character. This seems to be an apt model as we consider our Lenten spiritual practices.

The Epistle from Ephesians lifts us with the confirmation that in the Lord we are light. We are encouraged to try to find what pleases the Lord, discarding the unfruitful works of darkness and seeking the fruit of light that is “good and right and true.” Could there be a more uplifting charge for our Lenten journeys?

And in John, Jesus proclaims. “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” as he prepares to bring the light of sight to a man who had been blind from birth.  He said this to dismiss the disciples’ questions about the source of any sin that may have caused the man’s blindness, and to declare that the man had been born blind so that God’s work could be revealed in him.

But for us, Psalm 23, so familiar to us all, provides the brightest and most comforting message — the compelling portrayal of the Lord as our shepherd and guide who leads us by still waters and revives our souls, and will always be there to comfort us in difficult times. The shepherd image has been woven throughout our own lives – from our wedding over fifty years ago in the Church of the Good Shepherd in New Hampshire, to sitting for over thirty years each Sunday in “our” usual pew at St. Luke’s in the light of the stained-glass window depicting Jesus as the good shepherd.  Indeed, in God’s loving care, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

Linda and Al Potter