What do you think of when you hear the word “surrounded?” How does this word make you feel in your body? Does your breathing speed up, or your heart race just a little bit? Do you feel a little bit anxious or apprehensive? Do you feel claustrophobic? Perhaps you get an image in your mind of an enemy army surrounding you on all sides? Or, maybe you have a flashback to a time when bullies surrounded you by your locker or out on the playground. My first thought when I hear “surrounded” is of having no way out, of being trapped. The image of being surrounded is often a negative one, one that makes us feel small, helpless, and afraid.

But, there’s another kind of surrounded–-one that makes things sweeter and good. 

I’m reminded of one of the most delicious cookies I’ve ever had at Christmastime. I can’t remember the event, but I remember being in a church basement afterwards. On the counter outside the kitchen, there were plates overflowing with a wide variety of cookies. I took one, not really knowing what it was, and when I took a bite, I experienced the sweetness of chocolate, the saltiness of peanut butter, and the crispness of a cracker on the inside. I’ve since learned that these cookies are creatively named “chocolate dipped peanut butter Ritz cookies,” but I can attest to the perfection of their surroundedness. On their own, Ritz crackers are good. I also enjoy peanut butter. But sandwiched together and surrounded in chocolate, this dessert was transcendent. 

This week, we are continuing our lenten sermon series “Jesus and the Psalms.” Each week as we journey toward Holy Week, Palm Sunday, and eventually the joy of Easter, we are pausing to dwell in the psalms–the songs of the ancient people of Israel, and the songs of Jesus. Two weeks ago, Jaimi led us through the difficult text of Psalm 2, and she invited us to reflect on who is in charge in our lives. Last week, Jeff explored Psalm 16 and the way God is there to lift us up when we fall. This week, we are looking at Psalm 23, and we are considering what it means to be surrounded by God.

Psalm 23 is perhaps one of the most familiar passages in the entire Bible, right up there with John 3:16. We find Psalm 23 in movies and see it referenced in books. Many people can quote at least part of Psalm 23, even if they have very little background in a church. This familiarity is a blessing. Psalm 23 offers words of tremendous comfort. But, this familiarity can also pose a challenge. We have heard or read this psalm so many times in so many different contexts that we struggle to hear it with fresh ears. I’m thankful for Jaimi’s gifts and passion for biblical Hebrew so that we could hear and see this Scripture in a brand new way today.

This morning I would like to suggest that Psalm 23 is about being surrounded in the best possible way. This psalm is about taking an inward, spiritual journey with God over the course of our lives–both in the times beside quiet waters, and in the valleys of difficulty and darkness–and discovering that God was both leading us and following us the whole way. 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. The very first word in this psalm is “the LORD,” the name of God. Just like a shepherd goes out front to lead the flock, the LORD is positioned at the head of this psalm of confidence and praise. God, the shepherd, takes care of our needs and we are left lacking for nothing. Everything that follows in this psalm is an explanation of this verse. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. If you’ll indulge me with a little grammar lesson, I want to draw your attention to the pronouns used in the psalm so far. The psalm writer talks about the shepherd in the third person, and all the action is taken at the initiative of the shepherd: He makes me, he leads me, he restores me, he leads me. To be part of the shepherd’s flock is to be led by the shepherd, to listen to him when he urges us to bed down and rest, to allow him to nurture us and feed us, to take the path he leads us on. The sheep follow the shepherd because, as Jesus taught us in the Gospel lesson for today, they know his voice. The sheep know the shepherd. They trust him, and they follow.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. Here the pronouns the psalm writer uses shift from third person to second person. The shepherd is no longer “he.” The shepherd is “you.” The psalm writer has transitioned from remembering past details of God’s protection and provision, and has come to a place of familiarity and relationship with the shepherd. This central verse in the psalm shows us the importance of taking an inward, spiritual journey with our God. From the very beginning, the Shepherd meets our needs, even if we do not yet recognize him as the source of all we have. When we go through the darkest times in our lives, God is with us. When we walk through dark valleys, when we stray off course, when we suffer, God comforts and protects us.

Walter Bruggemann, prolific author and renowned theologian, wrote this about this center verse of Psalm 23: “It is God’s companionship that transforms every situation.” When our lives are in Christ, our hardships do not disappear. Our days don’t get easier. We don’t have a promise that we will never struggle or suffer. But, we discover that we are not alone in our troubles. God continues to feed us, to nurture us, and to sustain us.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Isn’t this verse incredible? With the dark valley behind the psalm writer and his enemies in front of him, he finds comfort and rest at a banquet table set by God. He discovers the oil of anointing and blessing, and his cup overflows. I love the way author and theologian Kenneth Bailey wrote about this verse. He said, “The host is ‘pulling out all the stops.’ …Furthermore the waiters are ‘hovering.’ Every time David takes a sip, one of them quickly rushes over to fill his cup. Actually, they are so eager to ‘do things right’ that his cup overflows.” The psalm writer’s relationship with God did not prevent the struggle, but he learned to find God’s abundance and rest in the midst of it.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. The first word in Psalm 23 is the name of God. Here in the last verse of the psalm, we find the only other reference to God’s name, just three words from the end. The name of God bookends the psalm on both sides, surrounding everything in the middle with who God is and what God is doing in the life of the psalm writer.

The LORD is the shepherd that leads and guides, and God’s goodness and mercy follow at the rear. My Old Testament professor from seminary Dr. Carol Bechtel described goodness and mercy in this psalm as “God’s sheepdogs,” the ones that don’t let the wandering sheep forget whose they are.

Just a couple of years ago, while at the Oregon Trail Days parade, we got to watch a herd of sheep move along the parade route. The shepherds were out front on horseback, and the sheep followed close behind. At the rear, sheepdogs nipped at the heels of the sheep and kept them on track. All of a sudden, one of the sheep got a wild idea to run up into the crowd of people, but before the sheep made it very far, one of the sheepdogs nipped at its heels and brought it back to the rest of the flock.

In the Old Testament, the word that is used for “follow” is quite often used of Israel’s enemies. It is a word that means to pursue. This same word is used in Exodus 13 when Moses is leading the people of Israel out of Egypt. The people make it to the sea, and they aren’t sure how they can go forward. Pharaoh changes his mind about letting the people go, and the Egyptian army goes in pursuit of the people to bring them back to be enslaved again. Moses and the people were surrounded by what seemed like certain death. But the psalmist in Psalm 23 is surrounded by life–by the Shepherd in the lead and God’s goodness and steadfast love and mercy at the rear, hemming him in and keeping him safe.

Ten years ago, Jeff and I trained together to run a 5K race. This particular race was a trail run, and it would take us through grassy terrain and up rocky inclines. We trained for months leading up to the event, and I set the bar pretty low for myself. I didn’t care how fast I was. I didn’t care what my time was. My two goals were: 1) to run every step of the way, and 2) to not come in last.

On the morning of the race, it was much colder outside than we expected. We struggled to decide how to dress, knowing we would warm up as we ran. We traveled to the location of the race, and the moment I got out of the car, I realized we were probably the least experienced runners there. The race had drawn a very small number of runners, and they were standing together in the lodge talking about all their previous races. Suddenly, I was grateful that I didn’t really care about placing. All I wanted to do was finish.

Jeff and I ran together the whole way. He had to slow his pace to stay back with me. As we ran, we quickly fell behind most of the runners. We navigated dirt paths, grassy areas, and run up such steep rocky inclines that we might as well have been hiking. I noticed that one person was behind me. He wasn’t really dressed for a race. He was wearing hiking boots and jeans. I glanced over my shoulder as I ran and I thought, “Well, that’s a strange way to dress for a trail run, but at least I’m not in last place!” 

I managed to stay ahead of him as we navigated the race course. I felt myself push harder to run a little bit faster so that I wouldn’t allow him to overtake me. When we got to the final stretch, I told Jeff to go ahead and run full speed. He pulled ahead of me easily. I tried to take longer strides, but I was about out of gas. When I crossed the finish line, I felt such a rush. I had done it! I had run every step of the way–it only took me 60:37 to complete a 5 mile trail run, so about 12 minutes per mile. Not fast by any stretch, but I had accomplished both of my goals. I finished, and I hadn’t come in last.

The man behind me crossed the finish line and the race organizer called out to him, “Hey, anyone left on the course?” The man responded, “Nope! This young lady was the last runner.” The man behind me hadn’t been in the race at all. He was the course sweeper, the guy whose job it was to make sure everybody made it back to the finish safely. I guess that explained why he was running in hiking boots…

Friends, the shepherd is ahead of us leading the way. God’s goodness and steadfast love are nipping at our heels and reminding us to stay close to the shepherd. Today, and throughout the rest of the season, let’s summon the courage to do this inner journey together. I love the way Chuck DeGroat, professor of care and counseling and author, puts it. He says: “Here is the great mystery: Christ in you. Not a few galaxies away. Not a few continents away. Not a few miles away. Not even a few inches away. No, Christ in you.”

The Good Shepherd invites you to look and see that he is with you. He is ahead of you. He is behind you. He is as close to you as your own breath. When we receive this good news, it will not erase the struggle from our lives, but we will find ourselves feasting with overflowing cups, even while the valley of the shadow of death is behind us and our enemies are in front. Surely, God’s goodness and mercy will pursue us today, tomorrow, and always.