March 8thThe Lord is my Everything
Psalm 23
I imagine many of you can quote lines from Psalm 23 or can even recite the whole psalm. As you go through it notice all the contrasts that are presented in the text:
some one who is in want - someone whose cup is full to overflowing
green pastures - dark valleys -
still waters - cup running over
lying down – walking
contentedness – fear
relationship with self - relationship with others
led in paths of righteousness - followed by goodness and mercy
life cut short in the shadow of death - life lived forever and ever present – future
being outside in all kinds of places - being inside in a dining room and house
The contrast I find most compelling is the one between the Shepherd and the One who prepares a table; a typically male image of God and a typically female image of God.
Who prepares the table in your home for a meal? It is still, more often than not, the woman who sets the table. A deeper question for me is, how will the table be prepared in a way that will facilitate the hardest of conversations - the conversation between two people who dislike or hate or have deeply hurt each other.
This reminded me of Corrymeela - a place in Northern Ireland that has facilitated these kinds of hard conversations since 1965. I hoped to see a photo of a conversation and a glimpse of the table on their website. I did see some mealtime images. A bare wooden table with a jug of water, salt and pepper. Maybe these conversations don't need much except a place to put your elbows and a glass of water. Or maybe the preparation is the journey you have made to get to the table: the calm places of reflection, the struggle through a dark time, the way you know that you are not alone. After you have walked the journey the psalm takes us, maybe only then are we ready to listen and speak words to heal a rift.
There is one place in the psalm where there is no contrast. The beginning and the end of the psalm provide us with the stable character of "the Lord" as a way to bookend the Psalm and hold it's many images and pieces together.
Psalm 23 is a very flexible psalm. April Yamasaki in her "Writing and other Acts of Faith" blog wrote a post in 2019 called, "The Lord is my Everything: Psalm 23 in the letter E." She was inspired by Mel Sawatzky to paraphrase Psalm 23 for each letter of the alphabet. There are many examples shown in the blog. I tried my hand at paraphrasing the psalm, not by alphabet, but by music. I officiated at a funeral for a woman who was passionately involved with Big Bands during her life. Here is my version of Psalm 23 I wrote for her.
The Lord is my Big Band Leader who has arranged all the music.
There is nothing I lack.
He leads me from a hearty forte to a quiet pianissimo.
The decrescendo restores my soul.
He leads me down familiar paths of jazzy riffs
to hear again the repeated theme.
And when I falter through the chorus
and lose my way through the 12 bar pattern so the music dies away,
I will not be afraid.
My big Band Leader is with me.
The rod of the baton, the music written on the staff,
and the other band members comfort me.
You prepare a new arrangement for the final Shout Chorus
under the eyes of those who break the rhythm.
You anoint my head with memories of gatherings around the piano
to sing the dark away.
My cup of joy spills over the keys.
Ah! How kindness and love have shown up to play the melodies with me every day of my life.
And now I shall dwell in the house of the Lord, my Big Band Leader,
where I no longer need to practice
and my fingers will play all the melodies to perfection
forever and ever amen.
Lois Siemens