John 14:1-12; Psalm 23
One way to gain a fresh
perspective on a very familiar passage of Scripture such as Psalm 23, is to ask
yourself how you would choose to make it into a movie. Imagining God’s Word in this way can really
make it come alive with deeper and more relevant meaning. So, if
you could, what kind of movie genre would you pick to bring this Psalm to the big
screen of your life and this whole world?
It’s kind of a Western. Green pastures. Still waters.
Moseying along trails in the name of true justice, against a backdrop of
gorgeous sunsets sitting atop valley peaks.
I’m definitely seeing The Duke leading
the cast.
There again, it would
certainly work as a classic Drama too.
Beautifully orchestrated soundtrack with lots of close-ups on the face
of a solitary figure struggling with the ultimate meaning of life. Coping with the multifaceted reality of death,
starving for protection, goodness and mercy.
At the end of this bit of Masterpiece Theater, I see a very moving scene
taking place at a church fellowship dinner.
A Sally Field sort of flick.
I also think Psalm 23 could
possibly be a comedy. Comedy movies
depend on exaggerating relationships and situations. The good ones do this to hammer home profound
truth about the vulnerabilities we all face.
Think Mrs. Doubtfire. And maybe,
just maybe, there could be a slapstick scene with God preparing a place at the
table for enemies while cups are running over.
Morgan Freeman, of course, would once again be cast in this role. Though the late George Burns would be my
choice, mostly on account of his wife’s theologically oriented name,
Gracie.
Of the different options
for how to depict Psalm 23 in film, I’d be most excited to direct it as an action
movie. I know it’s usually read at somber but
faithfully calming occasions such as funerals and so it might be hard to think
of these words in a much livelier way.
But bear with me and my biblically stirred up imagination as we dig a
little deeper into the original language and historical context with which
Psalm 23 was written.
I’m seeing an epic action movie. Think the Hollywood versions of the Lord of
the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia.
I see malicious, evil villains pursuing groups of innocent people up mountainsides
and back down through dark valleys. I
see homes suddenly abandoned by this terrible persecution, the food of family
meals left behind on dinner tables.
The film would focus on
one of these fleeing people in particular.
We first see him hiding behind a tree, scared to death of moving out
into the open. His facial expressions
reveal a soul suffering great loss and struggling to find some kind of true
protection in the presence of so many enemies.
Then, seemingly out of
nowhere, the film’s hero swiftly appears.
He is a man of action, yet he walks calmly through all the chaos. He has come to defeat evil enemies, yet he
wears a simple cloak instead of high tech armor and carries a shepherd’s staff
instead of a machete.
Safely bypassing the flurry
of furious attacks, the hero walks directly to the protection seeking soul
sequestered behind the tree. With powerfully gentle words and an
immediately trustworthy presence, he coaxes this character to come out from
behind the barrier and walk beside him.
“There is a safe and serene place,” he says, “that I have already gone
ahead and prepared for you. Yes, even in
the midst of all this deadly strife. I’ve come back to lead you there.”
But the camera pans in
close and we see that the still frightened soul isn’t sure whether or not to
trust the one come to the rescue. An
incredible promise had been made by this one-of-a-kind hero, yet something sinful
stirs deep within, questioning whether or not it’s better to take on the
chances of survival alone. The
soundtrack booms a dramatic timpani as this deep questioning triggers an
impulsive, action packed sprint away from the hero and back through the deep
woods. But the hero is undeterred by
the distrust. He turns in steadfast pursuit,
staff in hand and unwilling to let the struggling soul perish.
At the climax of this
blockbuster movie, we see beautifully cinematic scenes of complete restoration. Both the rescued and his Rescuer are
reclining side by side in a wide open green pasture beside still water. They have just enjoyed a feast, the remains
of which are on a nearby picnic table and still being enjoyed by the surprising
company of former enemies. We realize then
that the hero had gone before to set the table on behalf of them all and then gone
back in pursuit of getting them all to experience goodness and mercy.
I would title this
action movie, “In Holy Pursuit.” My inspiration for this comes from the last
verse of the famous Psalm – “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life.” These are comforting
words of blessed assurance. They remind
us that our Lord doesn’t ever abandon us.
But that’s not all. There’s a
deeper meaning, one that makes this scene more fitting to be directed by the
likes of epic director Peter Jackson than of the good but slow moving films directed
these days by Clint Eastwood.
What do you think of
when you read and hear the word “follow”?
Steadily walking behind someone?
If so, then this Psalm suggests the goodness and mercy of our Lord
steadily walks behind us wherever we may wander.
This English word,
however, is a translation of a Hebrew word that has a significantly different
shade of meaning. The original word
means “to ardently pursue, to run after with the aim of securing.” It’s the same word used in Exodus to describe
the Pharaoh’s army in pursuit of the Israelites. In Psalm 23, of course, it’s not a
figurehead of evil minions giving chase, it’s the font of all blessings. [i] And
this is in direct contrast to the divine goodness and mercy pursuing Psalm 23’s
author, King David, for it is widely believed that this was written in the
aftermath of his son Absalom’s attempt to assassinate him. He was in full flight out of Jerusalem,
hoping to stay alive. Talk about an epic
action movie! And all the while, David trusted
the Lord to both go ahead of him to prepare the way and to run after him with
the intention of securing his salvation.
He trusted the Good Shepherd would pursue him and ultimately carry him
safely home to the house of God forever.
Psalm 23 offers the
comfort and security that our Good Shepherd continues to do the same for us by
victoriously outrunning evil, pursuing and persuading us to let him lead us all
into His peaceable kingdom. When it
comes right down to it, the most accurate genre for this Psalm is that of an
epic love story.
I’ll leave you with a
modern day scene of this amazing and all inclusive love in action. The setting is Iraq, biblically known as
Babylonia. It’s 1993 and Lt. Col. Gary Morsch is wearing fifty
pounds of body armor while riding in the back of a Humvee next to a
gunner. He was on the road to Baghdad
serving as a field doctor. Also in the
Humvee was his very sick patient – a POW.
With the constant reality of suicide bombers and snipers all around his
convoy, as well as feeling lonely and homesick, he struggled within himself to accept
why he was risking his life for an enemy.
It was a Sunday.
He was also depressed about missing chapel service. I really like this guy! But he had an iPod music player with 1,000
songs on it to chase away his sorrow. He
set it to random and the first song to fill his weary head and heart was by the
Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing these words – “Surely the presence of the
Lord is in this place, I can feel His mighty power and His grace: I can hear
the brush of angels' wings, I see glory on each face; surely the presence of
the Lord is in this place."
He immediately felt led into a deep sense of powerfully
abiding peace. It was like nothing he’d
ever felt before. God was around him,
above him, within him. With tears
running down his dusty cheeks, he peered out the thick, bulletproof windows of
the Humvee. In that desolate enemy
place, he saw “Iraqis in their flowing robes, their mud-walled houses, children
at play, tall and stately palm trees.”
He sensed God in all he saw … with the Shiites, the Sunnis, the Kurds.
God was surely there.[ii]
We’re all part of each and every setting where Psalm 23
comes alive. Go out into the week ahead
willing to be directed and protected by the Good Shepherd’s love all along good
paths and through the darkest valleys.
And if you stray, don’t ever worry.
Just trust that our Lord is always in holy pursuit of your heart. Amen.
