I
will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:6b (read 23:1-6) - NIV
We are born to grow. It is tragic not to grow into
maturity. We learn to crawl, to walk, to talk, to live without diapers, to dress
ourselves, to feed ourselves, to groom ourselves, to go to school and to take
responsibilities. With everything running normally, we come to maturity. We
move out of the house of our parents and establish our own home and our own
profession. We earn our autonomy.
In the 23rd Psalm the sheep fold is the
cradle. It is the time of childhood and immaturity, the time of primary
learning. Few notice that in this Psalm the sheep stops being a sheep and evolves
into becoming a special guest sitting at a table. But in church we are taught
to glorify “sheephood” and be sheep forever. In the popular view a good
Christian is a good sheep. We serve the church by giving our wool and our milk.
We are very useful to the church by just remaining as sheep.
In this biblical text, the author leaves the dependent
and dumb sheep state to become a guest of honor at a banquet table prepared
especially for him. His glass is filled with so much wine that spills over. Can
you imagine a sheep sitting at a table drinking wine?
There is transformation. The guest is treated with
dignity and honor. He’s no longer a creature that needs to be conducted as though
he had no judgment of his own. He now has wisdom to be able to make his own
choices and to accept invitations. Here is a picture of freedom and autonomy. He
is present at the table by choice and not because he was conducted. He is no
longer just another "sheep" in a flock, but a personality. He has
escaped from the flock in the corral.
At the end of the Psalm, the author has graduated from
being a mere guest to become a member of the family. Now the relationship is of
interdependence, equality and mutual love.
Jesus had trouble with the religious authorities of
his time, because He did not let himself be “massified”. By his relationship
with "Daddy," Jesus was no longer simply a "good Jew",
shaped by the institutional values of his time. He became a “black sheep"
and did not to follow the flock.
Our challenge today is to graduate from the first part
of the 23rd Psalm and reach the final part. It is comfortable to be
a sheep forever and live by the rules of the corral. Institutions, both
religious and civil, lay down the rules that all should follow. Each one
transmits its biases and tries to determine limits. To be mature is to have a
vision that goes beyond imposed standards.
Jesus could dwell in “Daddy’s house" here on
earth, because he had a vision of a “Kingdom” which includes the whole world
and which embodies the standards of love and justice for all. In order to imitate
Jesus our mature faith must surpass the barriers that our communities erect. We
need to get out of the corral and live love and justice in this world which is
beyond the reach of our institutions. Growth leads to new realities and
broadens horizons. We can go from being mere sheep in a corral to become members
of a Divine family which is present in a world which is in need of love and
justice.
PSALM 23 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me
lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he
refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his
name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the
darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are
with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort
me.
You prepare a table before me
in the
presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup
overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days
of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
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