Fairhaven Sermon 4-26-2026

Summary

In this week’s service, Rev. Peg Bowman reflects on the fourth week of Easter, moving from the recent celebrations of the risen Jesus to a deeper contemplation of the continuity of God's presence in our lives. By examining the interconnectedness of Psalms 22, 23, and 24, Rev. Bowman illustrates a divine narrative: the prophecy of the crucifixion in Psalm 22, the present care of the Good Shepherd in Psalm 23, and the future glory of Christ's return in Psalm 24. Through the lens of David’s prophecies, the sermon highlights how Jesus entered into human suffering on the cross and promises a day when we will witness His eternal, unclouded glory.

Focusing on the "in-between" nature of Psalm 23, Rev. Bowman reminds the congregation that we live in the space between the cross and the crown. Using the evocative imagery of sheep that "nibble themselves lost," the message warns against the subtle ways we wander from God's path, emphasizing our profound need for an intimate friendship with the Good Shepherd. Ultimately, Rev. Bowman offers profound comfort, noting that even in our darkest valleys, the Shepherd’s rod and staff provide necessary guidance and protection. The sermon concludes with the powerful promise that God’s goodness and mercy do not merely follow us, but actively pursue us, preparing us for a future of beauty in His eternal house.

Transcript

So, today is the fourth week of Easter, and we are still celebrating Jesus' resurrection, but this Sunday is a little bit different. From Easter up until now, we've been reading and talking about the encounters that the disciples had with the risen Jesus, some of the things that they said, some of the things that they shared with each other. This week, for the first time since Easter, we have the opportunity to kind of step back for a moment and reflect on what has happened over these past few weeks and what it means to us and our friends and our families and our world.

And our readings today start with a short passage from Acts that talks about how the followers of Jesus lived together, sharing everything in common, and how they were truly joyful in God, and their joy was infectious. And so people noticed, and more and more people became Jesus followers every day. And then in the passage from John, we step back into the past momentarily to hear Jesus say that he alone is the good shepherd, that he knows each sheep by name, and that his people follow him and will not follow another. In calling Himself our Good Shepherd, Jesus' words remind us of the words of one of our favorite psalms, Psalm 23, which we just read a few moments ago. Amen.

And that's where I'd like to focus our attention this morning. This psalm that we all know so well is, we almost take it for granted. And for those of us who are raised in the church, I mean, Psalm 23 has been part of our lives since we were knee-high to grasshoppers, and rightly so. I mean, this psalm is essential to understanding who Jesus is and who we are in relationship to Him. But I should also mention, I learned early on in ministry that when I started doing visitations in hospitals and nursing homes, I was a pastor to be careful about where and when I read Psalm 23 because it's so often associated with funerals. People in nursing homes get nervous when they hear somebody reading this, but they'll relax. First, if I say, do you mind if I read this Psalm? Can you say it with me? And then they're okay with that. Psalm 23 is one of those touchstones of faith, like the Lord's Prayer, that even people with memory issues will remember this Psalm and will be able to say it. And I think maybe God planned it that way. It's a shame that Psalm 23, though, is so associated with the end of life, because it's meant for all of life, every day from beginning to end.

Now, one other thing before we dig into Psalm 23, and I wanted to point out that Psalm 23 is found in our Bibles between Psalm 22 and Psalm 24. I know you all figured that out. But the numbering of the Psalms is basically random. It's like the hymn numbers in our hymnals. But I have a feeling that somebody put these three Psalms together for a reason. And here's the thing. In this particular case, the order of Psalms 22, 23, and 24 actually tell the story of Jesus' death and resurrection, of Jesus' presence in our lives, and of Jesus' coming again. All three of these Psalms were written by David, who was a/a prophet as well as a king, and when we think of David, we often think of him as a warrior, the one who defeated Goliath, the one who united Israel into one kingdom. But David, like I said, was also a prophet, and to prophesy means to speak God's truth into a given situation. And sometimes it might mean receiving a vision from God, and sometimes prophecy just means speaking God's truth in a way that's relevant. So, Psalms 22, 23, 24 were all written by David, and their meanings are connected, so and, again, we're going to read this. I'd like to look at all three.

Psalm 22 is a prophecy of the crucifixion, and it describes in detail a form of execution that would not be invented for another 500 years. Crucifixion was a Roman form of execution. Though other nations had experimented with it, the Romans perfected it to a hideous degree. It's a prophecy of the crucifixion. Listen to the way David describes it. Verse 1, "'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Jesus spoke these words from the cross. And for centuries, theologians have debated about whether Jesus was actually God-forsaken in that moment or just felt like He was, and I'm not going to enter into that discussion. One thing I know, in that moment, Jesus felt what people often feel when tragedy strikes, when a loved and when a loved one has died, when we receive the news that there's no cure for an illness, when an earthquake happens, when life puts us so far down that we can't see daylight. In that moment on the cross, Jesus entered into our pain and our loss, and he sanctified it to God.

David then continues a few verses later, speaking in the voice of Jesus, "'All who see me mock me. They sneer at me. They shake their heads. Commit your cause to the Lord. Let him deliver. Let him rescue the one in whom he delights.'" These words are exactly what the people watching Jesus said as he was on the cross. The Pharisees said it, the Sadducees said it, the religious and Roman authorities said it. Amen. David continues in verses 14 through 18, giving words to what Jesus was experiencing. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within my breast. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death. "'For dogs are all around me, a company of evildoers encircles me. 'They bound my hands and feet. 'I can count all my bones. 'They stare and gloat over me. 'They divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.'" So King David is describing that terrible day a thousand years before it happened.

Next, I want to turn over to Psalm 24 for a moment. He says, that's the good news. David describes the future glory of our King Jesus as he returns. This is a window into eternity in God's kingdom. Verses 9 through 10, Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. Amen. David is describing a day that we can only begin to imagine, a promised day when Jesus will be crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and we will see his glory and find ourselves lost in his beauty. It's a day we can hardly imagine.

And in between the cross in Psalm 22 and the glory in Psalm 24 is this little psalm, sung by Jesus' followers, the sheep of his pasture. And David, having been a shepherd for a good bit of his life, knows exactly what this would look like and how it would feel. Psalm 23 tells our story, how God cares for us, how God is always with us. In fact, Jesus' name, Emmanuel, means God with us. And just like Psalm 23 lives in between the prophecy of the cross and the prophecy of the crown, we also live in between the cross and the crown. As we listen to our Good Shepherd being described in Psalm 23, we hear good news. Verse 1, we will lack for nothing. I shall not want means that everything we need is ours.

Many years ago, I read a quote that said, the reason that sheep need a shepherd is because sheep like to nibble themselves lost. Leave a sheep without a shepherd, and the sheep will nibble a little bit of grass over here, I don't, and then wander over here and nibble some grass over here, and then go over here and nibble some grass over here, and they see a patch just beyond those rocks. And before you know it, the sheep is lost or has fallen into a ravine or has been devoured by a wolf. Nibbling ourselves lost. It's a great word picture. And isn't that just how it works? We go off course just a tiny bit at a time. It's a great word picture. Very few people walk away from God in a hurry. Most of the time it's just a little bit here and a little bit here, and all of a sudden we're not sure where we are.

So what really matters to us today? More than anything, what we need is an intimate friendship with the Good Shepherd. We need to know that Jesus is with us. We need to know that our home is with Jesus in this world and the next world. And in Psalm 23, the Good Shepherd provides green pasture, good food, still waters, peaceful places to drink. Jesus restores our souls. He removes from us the grime and corruption of the world so that we can shine in intimate relationship with God throughout our lives. Jesus leads us in right paths. And this is important to know because when we look back over our lives, we can start to second-guess ourselves. Would my life have been different if I had chosen a different school or a different career or a different neighborhood? And the answer to these questions, of course, is yes, it would have been different. There are so many questions, though, so many possible roads a person can follow. The what-ifs can become overwhelming, but we can be confident that our Good Shepherd leads us in right paths for His name's sake. Yes. The paths we walk may not be the easiest we could have chosen, but we can be confident that Jesus leads us on each path, in each decision, to get to where we need to be and who we need to be in God's kingdom.

And even when we go through dark times, as we walk through the darkest valley, when we pass through places where we can't see the future and where danger may lie ahead, we don't need to be afraid, because the shepherd's rod and staff are there, the rod to defend us against attackers and the staff to gently guide us, and both of these things give us comfort. Our Good Shepherd has prepared a feast for us, right where our enemies can see it. Our Good and Shepherd anoints our heads with oil. And there are two meanings to this. First, putting literal oil on literal sheep actually protects the sheep against parasites. I did not know that until recently. And second, for us human sheep, oil anoints us as children of the king. Back in the ancient days, putting oil on someone's head was a way of saying, this is our next king, or this is our next queen. Oil makes us members of God's family.

So with Jesus as our shepherd, we are safe. We will find goodness and mercy even in the darkest places. And we will be with Jesus in the house of God forever. The second to last phrase in that psalm, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life," is actually better translated, "Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me." Goodness and mercy will chase us down. The word is the same word used to describe how the Egyptians chased the Israelites when they were leaving Egypt. God will chase after us with goodness and mercy. And it may take us a little bit of time to get to the kingdom. We may wander our way in, but God will be there like a shepherd, feeding us, guiding us, protecting us, and preparing us for a future of beauty beyond our imagining. King David says all of this is for all the people of God. This is our destiny. Amen.