Stephen
Terry, Director
Blessed
Is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord
Commentary
for the March 2, 2024, Sabbath School Lesson
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not
want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters." Psalm 23:1-2, KJV
Many years ago, as a young man
in my early twenties, I was in the Army and stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington.
I grew up in this beautiful state. Washington is split in two from top to
bottom by the Cascade Mountain Range. To the east of the mountains is a diverse
landscape from forests and mountains in the north and running south through
farmland and cattle country to the more arid, desert-like country of
south-central Washington. The dry conditions are the result of a rain shadow as
the clouds that soar over the state from west to east drop much of their moisture
on the west slope of the Cascades. But much of that arid land has come under
farming as well thanks to the Columbia River Basin Irrigation Project watering
the thirsty ground. An area that teemed with jackrabbits and the coyotes
chasing them now grows crops to feed the world. The jackrabbits have almost
disappeared, and the hapless coyotes now hunt rodents and the occasional house
pet.
While I was born in the arid
half of the state, before I was even a year old, my family relocated to the Puget
Sound. That inland waterway surrounded by vistas of snow-capped mountains was
my home for the first seventeen years of my life. While people from all over
the globe travel there to enjoy the incredible beauty of such a paradise, I had
no basis for comparison then and grew up eager to leave and explore the world.
In all my travels, I saw places that had their own special beauty, but I also
discovered the uniqueness of Washington State's Puget Sound. While it could rain
torrents, that rain made everything lush and green, and when the sun came out,
the area was the rival of any place on earth for its beauty.
It was my time in the Army that
made it possible for me to see other parts of the world for comparison. It was
also the Army that brought me back to Washington State after a tour in Vietnam.
Having purchased a new car, I set out to explore Washington. From those arid
stretches of Eastern Washington to the sandy beaches of Ocean Shores and up and
down the I-5 corridor I developed a greater understanding of the blessings of
living in this state. I drove the loop around the Olympic Peninsula and swam in
Hood Canal. Eventually, I found my way to Mount Rainier National Park and drove
to Paradise Lodge.
All those decades ago, the lodge
was not as large or as nice as it is today. There were no paved hiking paths
going up the mountain, nor were there so many people on the mountain as now. It
was such a beautiful day when I arrived that I decided to hike as far up the
mountain as I could to enjoy the fresh air and the exquisite scenery. I did not
meet anyone else while hiking. Most were staying down at the lodge, enjoying the
atmosphere there. I had barely gone more than a mile from the lodge when suddenly
clouds enveloped the mountain and I found myself in the middle of a fog bank
with visibility down to about thirty feet. Worse, the increase in humidity
caused my glasses to fog over, and I could see even less. Wiping the moisture
from my glasses accomplished little as they immediately fogged over again. Though
very nearsighted, I removed them. After an initial panic at being alone, lost,
and disoriented on the mountain, I told myself the safest thing to do was to
stop where I was and assess my circumstances. Both in the military and as far
back as my Scouting days as a child, the scenario of someone lost in the
wilderness was often role played. I could set out in the direction I thought
the lodge was in but without landmarks to orient myself, I could not be sure of
traveling in a straight line and could end up getting myself more lost than I
already was. But a point made by an instructor popped into my memory. He said
if all else fails, head downslope. Eventually you will hit a stream. Follow the
stream downstream and eventually you will find a town and safety.
I started feeling my way down
slope with my fogged-up glasses and the dense fog. It was slow going and took
about half an hour but eventually, instead of finding a stream, I came across an
asphalt road. I knew the only road led to Paradise Lodge. I could see which way
led up from the incline in the road, and since I knew the road dead ended at
the lodge, I headed up slope and was able to find myself back at the lodge's
parking lot. Exhausted from the stress of the situation and the physical
exertion of having to pick my way carefully down slope through the pines, once
inside the lodge where I could finally clear my glasses and quaff a cup of warm
cocoa, I felt much better.
It is possible to become lost
even in paradise. When that happens and the temptation is strong to panic, I
have taken comfort from the 23rd Psalm. "The Lord is my shepherd."
Everything he has led me through up until now has been to prepare me for this
moment. He has not abandoned me. Instead, he has given me a set of skills vital
for even the direst situation I might face. "I shall not want." He has left nothing out that I need, whether
what I currently have or the knowledge to obtain what I do not. He has often
even surrounded me with others who can assist me in discovering solutions. I can
find the green pastures because of his words speaking into my life. Those oases
of comfort and rest refresh me, and that knowledge calms the raging waters of
anxiety wanting to drive me to despair. My soul takes comfort as with every step
I take beside him, I discover it is the way I would have chosen had I known all
the facts. It is the way of righteous thought and righteous action. It is that
path of righteousness that step by step restores me to being all that he would
have me to be, complete in his image.
Even when faced with mortal
challenges I will not fear. Sometimes, in the valley of despair, life can seem
very dark. It is the nature of valleys and draws that even when the sun is shining
brightly above, it may not reach into the valley shadows. But even then, the Shepherd
is leading me. While we might wonder why the shepherd would lead his lamb into
such a place in the first place, even Jesus had a similar experience as he was
led into the wilderness to face trials, to experience that same dark valley we
all face at times.[i] This is why his presence is
so natural and so important to us. Who else would we have with us than one who
has passed through and therefore knows the way? He will lead us through that
darkness and in the very presence of those who would destroy us, he feeds us
and pours out abundantly the wine of his blessing into our cup, anointing us to
do for others all that he has been doing for us.
As we pour goodness and mercy
into the lives of others, he replenishes us continually even to the end of our
lives that we may live in his image and see that image of love and compassion
strengthen throughout the flock. The shepherd became
a sheep that the sheep might see and understand that they were to become
shepherds.[ii]
Even though they are sheep they must learn the work of a shepherd if they would
dwell with God, in his house, forever. Jesus, the shepherd who became like us,
the sheep, to show us the way home, told us we must be perfect like our
heavenly Father.[iii] What does this mean? He
is calling us to be what we were created to be, the image of God. "God is love."[iv]
Therefore, love with its attributes of empathy and compassion are to sprout and
grow in our restored souls. Then when we face those dark valleys and the
enemies that at times beset us, we will fear no evil, for love drives out fear.[v] We
can see this in the 23rd Psalm for this is no fear there. There is
only a deep, abiding trust in the love of God. When we
consider that the image of God is love and we were created to be in that image,
we might ask ourselves do people also have a deep and abiding trust in our
love? Or do they instead fear us? If the image we bear is one of harsh judgment
invoking fear, we only succeed in making the world more like hell than it
already is. Those who manipulate others through fear only create others who do
the same. They are the wolves among the sheep. They do not understand that the
sheep are not here to feed them and their pack. The sheep are not food. They are here for us to love into the kingdom of God.[vi]