It's good to be back.  We enjoyed our time with family and seeing the spring cactus blossoms.  About 20 miles from our place in Casa Grande is the new town of Maricopa where houses are mushrooming and also where they're starting a new Lutheran mission.  It might become a desert oasis, but I foresee a problem.  About 6-7 miles south of all the new homes is one of the largest dairy operations I have ever seen.  60-80,000 holstein cows, all downwind!  Those cows are going to generate a lot more than milk.  When a hot wind blows out of the south, those new homeowners are going to wonder what they bought.

          Most people don't know much about farm animals these days, whether cows or sheep, which makes me wonder about the popularity of the 23rd Psalm.  "The Lord is my shepherd..." is amazingly well known.  If you hear even a line or two of it, you know what it is.  I "googled" Psalm 23 on the internet, and in less than a second my computer rang up 9.7 million sites on Psalm 23!  9,700,000 places where Psalm 23 was mentioned.  Incredible popularity.  And who writes all that stuff?

          That's quite amazing, given that the ideas of shepherd and sheep are so far from our everyday life.  Psalm 23 is about a shepherd, and few of us have ever met one.  We've had more experience with police directing traffic than with a shepherd directing sheep.  I grew up on a farm and once raised six sheep to market, but that didn't make me a shepherd - or even that interested in sheep.  In our day of fast cars, freeways, and internet, what is it about Psalm 23 that still means something to us?

          Maybe it's nostalgia, a longing for the "good old days."  But although I'm a hopeless romantic about some things, sheep don't do a thing for me.  Maybe Psalm 23 is a retreat from the rugged individualism, a break with "going for the gusto," a reversal from the trend where "You Deserve a Break Today."  Maybe that's why an ancient poem about sheep being led around by a shepherd is so attractive.  Maybe we don't really want it our way, and want it right now!  Maybe being a sheep is what we really all want, at least now and then.

          We still call our church leaders "pastor," which means "shepherd."  Of course, some seminaries are training pastors to be facilitators, not shepherds.  And instead of preaching the Bible, they preach on the latest opinion poll.  Instead of leading their flocks to quiet waters, they muddy the waters with half-truths.  Instead of portraying God as powerful and mysterious, He's a buddy, a "good ol' boy."

          But most people aren't interested in that kind of God.  Bookstores have whole sections devoted to leadership, but few books on "followership."  Amazon.com will sell you 100 books on leading for every one on following, and even those are about "following" your dreams.  But Psalm 23 is all about following God.

          Psalm 23 should seem foreign to people today, and yet it endures, because deep down in our souls, we know we need a shepherd.  We need someone bigger, wiser, and stronger to show the way.  We don't need Homeland Security as much as we need God Security.  We don't need self-reality, we need God reality.  We don't need the DaVinci Code, we need God's code, and we already have it in the Bible.

          Some of you may recall Psalm 23 was read at President Reagan's funeral last year.  That may have surprised some who think powerful leaders don't need a shepherd.  But the bigger you are, the more you need a shepherd.  The higher up you are, the more you need to be anchored down.  And it can't be just any shepherd.  It can't be L. Ron Hubbard of the Church of Scientology.  Nor can our shepherd be Mohammed or our favorite politician.  Jesus is the only true Shepherd worth following.

          We need a Savior, not just a good buddy.  We need a Life Saver, not just an advice giver.  We need a shepherd, because without one, sin will pull us down.  Without a shepherd, the world will overwhelm us.  Without a shepherd Satan will drown us in our excesses.  But with the Good Shepherd, Jesus, we have everything we need.

          That's how Psalm 23 (NIV) starts out:  "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want."  The psalm writer David means he has all he needs, that with the Good Shepherd he lacks nothing.  The bottom line is that we the sheep are okay so long as we are under the Good Shepherd's care.  And it can come in surprising ways.

          Some amazing stories have come out of Hurricane Katrina last summer.  One man told of swimming away from his house, his two children clinging to his back, swimming thru the debris to the roof of the tallest building in the neighborhood.  Others soon joined them on a rooftop where they stayed for three days.  After reaching this relative safety, the man realized they were on a church roof, so he said to the others, "I guess we're on holy ground."  A woman with them pointed at the steeple and said, "My grandfather and grandmother helped build this church!"  (That church may have been one of three Good Shepherd Lutheran Churches in the New Orleans area.)

          Now those grandparents never could have imagined God would use their work to save their grandchildren in that way.  They may have prayed for their souls, but saving them by building a tall roof?  Those folks from an older time had no idea how God would use the work of their hands.  And neither do we.  We all need a church to build.  We all need a rooftop to climb onto, a steeple to look up to.  We need it for ourselves and for those who come after.  There are times in life when we come to a fork in the road, the point at which that spark of faith God gives us will grow into a flame, or it will die.  Will someone fan that flame, or will they douse it?  I'd like to know what will happen to those on that roof, especially those children.  I'd love to find out how, on some future day, God used them for something very good.  And it all began when some grandparents built a church that helped save people during a terrible storm.

          Despite the popularity of Psalm 23, most of us know little about shepherds or sheep.  We usually hear preachers tell us that sheep are dumb.  But that's not really true - sheep are no smarter or dumber than most animals.  They just require different handling.  Cattle need to be driven from behind, but sheep prefer to be led.  Sheep have an ability to trust their shepherd.  A sleeping flock of sheep will not stir if their shepherd walks among them at night.  But let a stranger set foot near them, and the flock will explode like a firecracker.  Still today in the Middle East, three or four flocks may arrive at the same watering hole at sundown, and within minutes will mix together to form one big flock.  But the shepherd doesn't worry about losing his sheep, because he knows that when it's time to go, all he has to do is give his call, and his sheep will separate from the big flock, because they know how to follow him.

          And so our Lord Jesus can say, as in John's Gospel, chapter 10, "I am the good shepherd.  My sheep know my voice, and they follow me."  They follow Him because He gives them eternal life in heaven.  And He gives them a mighty good life here on earth, too.

          I drive a small dependable car, plodding little Chevy, amusingly called a "Blazer."  But I recently had a ride in a truly "hot" car - a Dodge Viper.  After wiggling into the seat a few inches off the ground, we took off - literally!  In 1st gear it nearly broke my neck.  In 2nd, the G-force slammed my whole body back, and in 3rd gear we blew past a semi like it was parked.  But after speed shifting to 4th gear, suddenly we slowed down.  By the roadside ahead was a parked police car, and everybody slowed.  Now that huge truck and that blazing Viper both had the power, but that policeman had the authority.  Engines can make us go fast, but authority can stop us in our tracks.  Who is our authority?  Who do we let have charge over our lives?  Is it this world with all its chills and thrills, or is it Jesus?

          Our world has changed much since Psalm 23 was written, but we still like it.  We like it because everyone needs a shepherd, and the good news of the Gospel is that we have the greatest of all shepherds: Jesus our Lord.  He is the Good Shepherd, and He is also the perfect Lamb, the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world.  The Good Shepherd gives His life for His sheep. The blood of the Lamb washes us clean and sinless.  Jesus, the Shepherd-Lamb, leads us on, prodding us, protecting us, and guiding us through life until we safely come home.  And so we sing, "I am Jesus' little lamb, ever glad at heart I am.  And when my short life is ended, by His angel hosts attended, He shall fold me to His breast, there within His arms to rest."  Everyone needs a shepherd.  By faith, make Jesus yours.  Amen

Copyright © 2006 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.