So much around us in the world today encourages us to live in a house of fear. (Watch our Sunday worship and hear how Pastor Amy described this house of fear.) Scripture readings, like those heard in worship on Sunday, could give us the impression that our goal as people of faith is not to relocate from our house of fear, but to keep the faith in the here and now and prepare for the glories to come in the next world. That seems to be the message of the last words of Psalm 23 – I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

We are so used to hearing Psalm 23 in the context of funerals, we can assume that the text is intended to give voice to the good news of God’s promise of a better home in the life to come. But at its core, Psalm 23 talks about living and it describes the home that God offers us each and every day of our life!

Psalm 23 tells us that the home our Good Shepherd provides is one where our needs are met, our bellies are filled, our thirst is quenched, our safety made secure, and where we feast alongside our enemies.

In the book, The God Who Sees, by Karen Gonzalez, the author writes: “It requires hope to act out a story with a happy ending when the story [we] are living doesn’t yet have such an ending—the participants are trusting that God is at work in things [we] don’t see or understand.” Her words speak to all of us who find ourselves in houses of fear and yet longing to live in the house of abundance that our Good Shepherd provides.

To be sure, for all of us who live today in a house of fear or anxiety or worry, it takes hope to act out another story. It takes hope to live with a sense of enough, when everything around us seems to be lacking. The words of Psalm 23 become our declaration of faith in the house of abundance that God has built for us!

This week, when you find yourself afraid or worrying, take a moment to pause and speak the words of Psalm 23 (use your favorite translation or listen to the one linked in Ponderings, below). In these ancient words, we are reminded that Christ calls us to abide with him in this house where our needs are met and our where our lives are restored.  This is the house where we are invited to take up residence today . . . and always!

Christ is risen!

Christ is risen, indeed! Alleulia!