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. (Psalm 23:1-6)

 

 

     Well, we're now a little bit more than halfway through the journey. I'm talking, of course, about the journey through Lent. Lent generally begins and ends with a journey – at the beginning, the journey of Jesus into the wilderness to face temptation, and at the end the journey of Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem to the cross at Calvary. In between those two events is our journey through Lent. Life is a journey. Faith is a journey. We're constantly moving from where we were to where we're going; from who we were to who we're becoming. So in that sense, the season of Lent – moving from temptation at the beginning, to death at the end, to glorious resurrection victory immediately after – serves as a template for our entire lives in a way. As with a lot of journeys – our journey through both faith and life is shrouded in mystery and uncertainty. We're never quite sure what we're going to be facing at any given moment. Unexpected twists and turns come up, sometimes we have to make u-turns. Sometimes it feels as if we're lost in the wilderness, not quite sure where it is we want to go; where it is we should be going; where it is that God wants us to go. 

 

     As I thought about the journey motif of Lent, I was drawn to what is possibly the most familiar passage in the Bible – the 23rd Psalm. Considering how familiar it is – and I like the more modern versions of it because hearing words that are a little bit different perhaps jars us into paying more attention than we otherwise might – it's perhaps a little bit strange that we don't really use Psalm 23 much in church. It gets used often at funerals, and it gets used often in private devotions I suspect, but not really all that much in the course of a normal Sunday service. And yet it fits the journey motif perfectly. The 23rd Psalm is usually referred to as “The Shepherd's Psalm” - but it could also be talked about as “The Wanderer's Psalm.” In the midst of Psalm 23, you see, there's a very important reference to a journey that's being taken - “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me ...” The verse really refers to three things that can plague and bedevil us as we make our own journeys – darkness, valleys, and even death itself – because as we all know, the more familiar words to the verse are “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” I want to spend a few minutes thinking about those three images – darkness, valleys and death – and reflect on how they impact us in a modern world that's far removed from the realities that would have been faced by a shepherd in the ancient middle east, and on how we overcome the challenges that they represent to us in our own lives of faith.

 

     In the 23rdPsalm the author is walking “through the darkest valley.” Darkness is something that makes a lot of people uneasy and uncomfortable. The Bible uses darkness a lot as an analogy for that which is dangerous or that which is hidden and secret – and the very fact that it's hidden and secret (whatever it is) that makes it dangerous. In the 23rdPsalm, we see the author walking through “the darkest valley.” To think back to what I said last week for a moment, here is where we find the importance of believing that our ever present Jesus is the light of the world. He overcomes this darkness that can sometimes envelop us. Have you ever found yourself enveloped in darkness? In a situation that seems hopeless? Well, it's never really that dark. Because there is always light. And the good news that we find even in the 23rdPsalm is that we never get stuck in “the darkest valley.” We walk through it. We overcome the darkness that sometimes seems to consume our lives. Because we have Jesus – the light of the world – illuminating all the dark places that we sometimes find ourselves in.

 

     In the 23rdPsalm the author is walking “through the darkest valley.” Valleys are interesting things. They can be quite beautiful. I can remember driving through the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, and coming to the top of one of the mountains, where there would be a lookout where you could get out of your car and look at the valley below you. And it was always a beautiful sight. But in certain circumstances it would seem to me that valleys could also be quite threatening places, especially if you combine the valley with the darkness. Think about the image for a few moments. In a valley – especially if you suspect that there might be danger – you may well feel a little bit trapped. There may well not be an easy way out of a valley, so you feel very vulnerable to whatever predators there might be within the valley – which, in the context of Psalm 23 – would be an especially difficult problem for a shepherd with a large herd of sheep to protect. Have you ever found yourself in a valley? In a situation from which there seems to be no escape, with everything seeming to close in around you and trap you? Well, it's never really that hopeless. Because there is always a way out. And, once again, the good news that we find even in the 23rdPsalm is that we never get stuck in “the darkest valley.” We walk through it. We overcome the hopelessness that sometimes seems to overtake our lives. Because we have Jesus – the good shepherd – always with us, and always helping us find a way through those most hopeless of situations.

 

     Finally, to use the more traditional translation which is so beloved to so many people, in the 23rdPsalm the author is walking “through the valley of the shadow of death.” There's that word that so many people fear, probably because we know that it's so inevitable. Even the Bible understands the ominousness of death. Yes – the Bible is full of hope about death; and repeatedly reassures us that death is not the end – but it doesn't paint a rosy picture either. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:26, refers to death as “the last enemy to be destroyed.” That's both hopeful and unsettling. Death will “be destroyed,” but it's going to be the “last enemy” to be destroyed – so it's still with us. And we all have to face it. Not just the inevitability of our own deaths, but the reality that those around us whom we love are going to die. We've all faced that, time and time again. When I talk with those who are very elderly, one of the saddest laments I often hear is, “I have no friends left because they've all died before me.” Death does cast a shadow over us, doesn't it. It's always there. We don't think about it very often thank goodness, but deep down we know it's there. Have you ever faced death? Either a serious health issue of your own, or the death of someone you love? We all deal with that one thing that we know is inevitable for each and every one of us that will put an end to our lives, even though we thankfully choose not to dwell on it too much? Well, it's never really that final. Because even death has been and will be defeated. And, once again, the good news that we find even in the 23rdPsalm is that we never get stuck in “the valley of the shadow of death.” We walk through it. We overcome the inevitability that seems to surround death with faith in the fact that death has already been defeated once, and i the promise that death will be defeated finally and forever – and that we will live! Because we have Jesus – Who is the resurrection and the life – Who's been in the realm of death, and who came through it, and Who promises us that we'll come through it just fine as well, as inevitable as it may be.

 

     “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me ...” Do you see the significance of the verse? We might find ourselves in “the darkest valley” or in “the valley of the shadow of death,” but the promise is that we'll “walk through” it. We won't be trapped by it and we won't get lost in it – we'll “walk through” it. Don't let the dark valleys get you down. Just remember that Jesus walks with you, and that Jesus gets you through, to the other side, where dark valleys are gone, and where the light of life remains!