Fiza Pathan –
Many Catholic believers revere and pray Psalm 23, popularly called ‘The Lord Is My Shepherd’ prayer. But how many of us believe in its message? William James, the American philosopher, mentioned once: ‘The pit of insecurity beneath the surface of life.’
Many of us, while praying this Psalm continue to live in the Valley of Shadow of Death, Fear, Darkness, and Insecurity simply because we have not understood certain crucial aspects of the Psalm. We forget that in the lines penned by King David, ‘Yea though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death’, the preposition ‘THROUGH’ is used, indicating that the Valley is temporary and if we believe and live in the Presence of the Lord, then we shall enter His home to dwell there forever.
Yet, we still prefer living in bitterness, resentment, rage, etc., because as bestselling writer and Jewish Rabbi Harold S. Kushner said: ‘The Valley of the shadow of death can be a seductive place, impossible to enjoy but hard to leave.’
To leave this Valley, one must trust in the Good Shepherd and live life in His Presence. Catholic theologian and Biblical scholar Bernard Orchard in His commentary on Psalm 23, mentions that the Psalm is like a Hymn on the Sacraments as each of the Holy Sacraments is mentioned in different parts of the text:
• ‘Still Waters’ (Baptism)
• ‘Lead me on the paths of righteousness’ (Confirmation)
• ‘Thy Rod and Thy Staff’ (Penance)
• ‘Prepared a table’ (Eucharist)
• ‘Though I walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death’ (Extreme Unction)
• ‘Anointed my head with oil, my cup overflows’ (Holy Orders)
• ‘Goodness and kindness all the days of my life’ (Matrimony)
Through these Sacraments, we can constantly live in the Presence of the Good Shepherd, who guides us in life with His staff and rod. Where the staff helps to pull us like lambs from the pits or pitfalls of life, the rod, on the other hand, disciplines us when we stray from the path of righteousness. This we know about the significance of the rod from texts from Scripture:
‘I will send Assyria, the rod of My anger against an ungodly people.’ – Isiah 10:5
‘I am the man who has known affliction under the rod of God’s wrath’. – Lamentations 3:1
‘He who spares the rod hates his son.’ – Proverbs 13:24
By living in the Presence of God, we realize that even if a terrible event occurs like a loved one passing away, we lose all our property, we lose a job, we have to undergo separation, etc., even also if we are left probably with only our Good Shepherd with us, we must realize that we must not give into despair because this Shepherd will replenish us as He ‘restores our soul’.
We must not feel defeated and succumb to the temptations of the materialistic world. We must not ask the question ‘Why me?’ but holding onto the staff of the Lord, rise and survive the storm – because we are the anointed ones of the Lord who is the perfect Host and the perfect King who prefers to symbolize His watching over us as a Shepherd who watches over His precious sheep.
In the International Bible Commentary Indian Edition, an Ecumenical Commentary for the twenty-first century, it is mentioned that God acts as both a Shepherd and a Rich Host in this Psalm. The Psalm works on three levels:
• For individuals praying to God in times of trouble and for gratefulness.
• For the poor and needy of spirit and materialistic goods to live more authentic Catholic lives in service to others.
• For nations of people like the Israelites who could have tried to live more fruitfully in the Presence of the Good Shepherd.
Just like the Psalm begins and ends with the name of Yahweh, we, too, must learn that life is pointless without God being there for us forever, especially while we are on earth.
The Psalm was penned by King David, who remembered the life of the Hebrews as nomads in the desert while journeying to the Promised Land. We, like the Hebrews, live like nomads in this life. We wander aimlessly through life without purpose or meaning.
It was King David who was prophesising by the power of the Holy Spirit the Redeeming quality of Jesus Christ who indeed redeems the post-truth world from existential loneliness – from being aimless wanderers with our Catholic values inoculated in this world of materialism.
To live in the Presence of the Good Shepherd, we need to pray Psalm 23 not as a prayer of passive comforting but as a prayer of challenge. We must make the Good Shepherd Christ our aim in life. Then all shall fall into place. The journey is not easy or comforting, but it will be worth it. For this, we have to make correct life choices, which are important because we are mortal. Our salvation depends on each sheep’s choice made today.
‘Death is the mother of beauty.’ – Wallace Stevens (American Modernist Poet)
We must constantly die to ourselves, serve others in righteousness, and then as Christ promised, we will see the reason for all our suffering. We will then see the beauty of life rather than just mumble Psalm 23 without conviction or focus. We will see the overall picture, which will be further dwelt upon by the Gentle Shepherd of this Psalm who does good things for us not because we are sinful or righteous but because He is Holy and Perfect.
‘And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.’
– 1 Peter 5:4
Fiza Pathan is an accomplished author of twelve award-winning books and has won a number of international awards. She writes for The Examiner, Mumbai a Catholic Magazine.. She lives with her maternal family in Bandra and blogs on insaneowl.com.