Shepherd imagery forms a central metaphor in the lectionary readings for this week, which are Psalm 23; Acts 4:5-12; 1 John 3:16-24; and John 10: 11-18. Concerning a practical aspect of preaching on these passages, I will also discuss different perspectives on incorporating challenging periods in one’s personal life into sermons.
Psalm 23 is popularly known in the King James version:
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Shepherd imagery used to describe characteristics of God is abundant in the Hebrew Scriptures, and then plays a central role in Christological narratives in the New Testament. A Web resource that systemically lists shepherd motifs from both Hebrew Scripture and the New Testament is the following section from 2π Bible Pages: http://www.2pi.info/bible/studies/ShepherdStudy/Shepherdsin.html. I should mention that the authors interpret these passages from a perspective that presupposes biblical inerrancy, which all readers might not necessarily share. Biblical narratives in which tending sheep plays a central role include those about Abel (Gen 1), Abraham (Gen 12), Jacob (Gen 30), and David (1 Samuel 16). In the Song of Solomon 4:2, praising his beloved’s physical attributes, the lover compares her teeth to sheep in a verse I always found somewhat amusing: “Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes which have come up from their washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost her young.” I Kings 22:17 describes the prophet Micaiah predicting disaster for Israel if they go to battle at Ramothgilead against the Syrians: “And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.”
In notes on the Hebrew poetry of Psalm 23, Robert Alter writes, “. . . this psalm is justly famous for the affecting simplicity and concreteness with which it realizes the metaphor” (Alter, 78). The verb from 2, hirbits, is a specialized verb used for making animals lie down, thus extending the shepherd metaphor on the level of diction. While the phrase “He restoreth my soul” is arguably the most well-known, a more accurate translation of the Hebrew word nefesh would be “life breath” or “life.” According to Alter, the image is of a person who has almost stopped breathing, who then has been revived. It’s a term for a biological state that emphasizes God’s power to heal. In 4, the Hebrew word typically translated as “the shadow of death” is tsalmawet—tsel meaning “shadow,” and mawet “death.” Alter writes of the juxtaposition between this longer phrase that opens verse 4 and the condensed, “I fear no harm”: “The imbalance between this extremely brief verset and the relatively long first verset, equally evident in the Hebrew, gives these words a climactic effect as an affirmation of trust after the relatively lengthy evocation of the place of fear” (Alter, 79).
The 2π Website referenced earlier provides cross-references to other passages that use imagery based on the motifs of a shepherd’s rod and staff. In Ezekiel 20:37, the prophet says, “And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant”. The writer(s) explain that the passage refers to the practice of making sheep pass under a rod for counting or inspecting. In Leviticus, Moses is described as commanding the Israelites to reserve every tenth sheep for God, in a practice that may be foundation for the contemporary practice of tithing ten percent of one’s income: “And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD” (Lev 27:32). According to the 2π Website, the flock of sheep would be herded through a narrow opening, and the shepherd, having dipped the tip of the rod in a colored material, would mark every tenth sheep. The staff could be also used for sheep handling, as a walking stick, or, like the rod, as a protective device against predators, such as wild animals or robbers.
The phrase from 5 translated in King James as “Thou anointest my head with oil” calls to mind ritual anointing of rulers by a priest and resonates with Messiah imagery discussed last week (Christos=“the anointed one”). Yet Alter explains why this is not the connotation of the Hebrew verb dishen, and that the phrase would be more accurately translated as “You moisten my head with oil.” Alter writes that the verb’s “associations are sensual rather than sacramental. Etymologically, it means something like “to make luxuriant.” This verse, then, lists all the physical elements of a happy life—a table laid out with good things to eat, a head of hair well rubbed with olive oil, and an overflowing cup of wine” (Alter, 79).
John 10:11-18 describes Jesus using the metaphor of a shepherd to describe his relationship with humanity. This passage arguably both foreshadows his crucifixion and provides an explanation for it. According to the metaphor, God’s love for humans is like that of a shepherd willing to die defending sheep from attackers.
11"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
12"He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13"He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.
14"I am the good shepherd, and I know my own and my own know me,
15even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16"I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
17"For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.
18"No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again This commandment I received from My Father."
The passage characterizes the love of God as actively reaching over boundaries. 16 reads, “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice . . .” I John 3, which may have been written either by the same author as the Gospel of John or by writers who inherited his teaching, exhorts listeners to apply the metaphor of the shepherd to their relations with each other. Jesus’ self-sacrificing love can be a model for selflessness as an active virtue in communal life. 1 John 16-17 reads, “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?”
This week I had a discussion about sermons in which pastors use their personal lives as examples, specifically referring to challenges they faced in their past and presenting themselves to their congregation in a less-than-sterling light. This is a familiar method of preaching to me, which can be described as giving a “testimony”: the preacher describes the affects of God’s grace on his or her own life. Passages such as Psalm 23 offer particular openings for sermons of this kind. My conversation partner however argued that members of a congregation typically want to idealize the figure of the church leader, and may get turned off when ministers reveals to their human fallibility. I am interested in hearing from readers who preach and would like to share thoughts on this topic. If you email your perspectives to the address mbsintern@gmail.com, I will incorporate them into next week’s blog entry, either anonymously or not as you indicate.
--Elizabeth Fels
Sources:
Alter, Robert. The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2007.
Bible verses quotes from biblegateway.com and NOAB.
http://www.2pi.info/bible/studies/ShepherdStudy/Shepherdsin.html.
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