First United Methodist Church
March 16th, 2025
Rev. Lauren Hall
So Much is Out of our Control
Earlier this year when I was trying to figure out a better way to communicate weather closings, I ended up downloading the First Alert Weather App. While it was helpful to keep me informed about cold weather and snow storms, it is becoming somewhat annoying as I am now receiving three or four alerts every day telling me that the sun is shining.
But it made me think a little bit. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an app that alerted us every time something spectacular was about to happen? Snapchat used to have a game that the kids would play this time a year where they could find virtual Easter Eggs by traveling to different places. Kind of like Pokémon Go, but with Easter Eggs and without the battles. That got me thinking too – wouldn’t it be nice to have an app that sent you looking for the places where God is at work in the world? To have a little ping that makes us pay attention and notice and be grateful? Ping! Pay attention. Ping! Something amazing is happening right now. Ping! God is here!
The primary text for today is Psalm 23, which is often the text we go to when we are seeking comfort, but I want to spend a little bit of time exploring our gospel, because I think it leads us to look at Psalm 23 from a different and more challenging perspective.
In Luke, Jesus has been journeying to Jerusalem since the end of chapter 9, and this journey lasts all the way through chapter 19. He has been teaching and healing and casting out demons. Everything that is mentioned in this passage represents a significant part of his establishment of the kingdom of God and the passage itself becomes a reflection on the nature of Jesus’ life and mission. Performing cures is a part of the fundamental character of Jesus’ mission, having been announced earlier in chapter 4 as being “to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind.” Later he addresses the casing out of demons, saying, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.” (11:20) His lament about Jerusalem tunes us into the reality that it is a necessary destination for his journey despite his knowledge that he will face his own death there.
Throughout Lent we travel with Jesus to Jerusalem and prepare ourselves to experience Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection 3 days later. This passage, when taken out of context, seems to portray Jesus as a little out of control. But the reality is that people keep asking him who is good enough for the Kingdom of God, and his response, though riddled within metaphor and parable, says, “Not you.” People are shocked and hurt when they hear this because they have done their best to be good people, especially the Pharisees. They have followed the Law and obeyed the Sabbath and brought sacrifices to the Temple – what more does God require of them? Jesus wants them to know that they cannot control the will of God, which Jesus personifies, although they will try. Jesus is here to establish a lasting empire in which Herod has no jurisdiction (substitute Satan for Herod if you wish).
And so, as we read this passage, what we might take from it is this:
Christ’s mission is to establish the reign of God on earth. We are charged to continue that mission in a world in which so much is out of our control. What we desire – our longing for particular outcomes – often keeps us driven to exhaustion and distraction. And yet, if we worry less about our own goodness and more on treating the world, the planet, and all the creatures, especially those who are suffering, as holy and worthy of our love, then we will be acting on what we can control, in sharing what we have with others.
Jesus knows he can only bring this message, not make the people accept it–to his frustration.
This is where Psalm 23 comes in. As I mentioned earlier, it is the Psalm that we often turn to when we seek comfort, especially during stressful and difficult times. But here’s a question: Did you ever notice that most of the anger we experience is over things we don’t control?
One of the most beautiful and comforting pictures of how God loves and cares for us is when He is shown as a shepherd caring for his sheep.
A flock of sheep is fully dependent on their shepherd. On their own, domesticated sheep are prone to wander, exposed to danger, unable to right themselves if they fall and they can even have trouble finding their own food or water. But under the care and guidance of a loving shepherd, sheep are led safely to bountiful green pastures, protected from dangerous predators, picked up and steadied when they fall, and guided back to the flock when they are spooked or start to wander away. Sheep can actually recognize their shepherd’s face and they know their shepherd’s voice. They trust their shepherd and depend on him to provide everything they need.
In the traditional understanding of this psalm, as your good shepherd, the Lord is guiding you and providing for you today. No matter what your circumstances are or the path that your life has you on, the Lord, your shepherd, is with you. David reminds us that the shepherd stays with you no matter what.
But there are three words within this psalm that I would like to focus on today. Since we don’t have a Jesus Go app to lead us to the places where God is actively working for good in the world, we instead have to rely on our shepherd’s voice. And Psalm 23 says, “He leads me.” He leads me to green pastures and still waters. He leads me in the right direction for his name’s sake. He leads me through the dark times. He leads me to the table that he has set, so that I can dine with those with whom I disagree. He leads me!
That is the challenge of this psalm. When we make the choice to be led, we are offered another promise. It’s in the last verse.
Let’s say it together: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Psalm 23 reminds us that God is with us and God leads us everywhere we go. It doesn’t promise that we will never face difficult times, but it instead promises that when we do face them, we don’t face them alone. God is with us.
Each person who is here today will experience this promise differently, but what is important is that we take some time each day to give God the space to lead us. We can’t control where or when we will encounter God’s love in our lives, but if we build time into each day to do something that brings us closer to God, our experience will be more joyful, life-giving and meaningful. Amen.
