Easter 4 C - Good Shepherd Sunday

4 Easter

Sermon Given on April 25, 2010

By Rev. Valerie Ann Hart

At St. Barnabas, Arroyo Grande, CA

Today is the fourth Sunday of Easter, and every year that is Good Shepherd Sunday, for we remember Christ as a shepherd.  It also turns out that this is the Sunday closest to Earth Day, and so it is Earth Sunday, a time to think about our environment, and I couldn't help but think that there had to be some kind of tie in between sheep and shepherds and Earth Day, that somehow that pastoral sense of caring for sheep and the pastoral sense of caring for the environment were somehow combined.  We'll see how that works out in the sermon.

How many of you have seen a live sheep? How many of you have seen a live sheep outside of a zoo or a petting zoo?  Seen a flock of sheep?  Hey, this group really knows animals.  Well, some of us grew up in the city and don't have that much familiarity with sheep.  Sheep are interesting animals.  They are the first animal that was domesticated for agricultural purposes. They probably domesticated the dog first for hunting, but the domesticated sheep go back somewhere between seven and nine thousand years.  They've been around a long, long time.  And they think they probably were easily domesticated because of their tendency to follow whoever is moving, so it wasn't too hard for human beings to begin to herd them.  But it also means that sheep have been domesticated for so long that they can't survive in the wild.  If a sheep escapes from its fold, it will not be able to survive.  

Now, sheep have been given the rap of being really dumb.  I'm not sure they're quite as dumb as they're made out to be.  That might be how cowboys – you know, cattle herders, talk about sheep, but sheep are probably about as smart as a cow, which, of course, is not brilliant. Basically they have a one-pointed mind, and that is focusing on the ground and finding things to eat. And they are perfectly built for that. With their heads down they just kind of wander along and they look for anything that looks like it might taste good.  And also, the shape of their faces and their jaw is such that when they eat grass, they get it right down to the roots.  They get right down there because it's a thin face.  Cows and horses don't get as far down; they leave a little bit.  So if you have a flock of sheep that stay in the same pasture for a long time, they can rid it of all living things, and it's very hard for it to come back. So a good shepherd knows that you don't keep your sheep in one spot.  You move them from place to place.  They feed in one place and then you take them somewhere else.  

So, sheep are one-pointed, one-pointed consumers. That's really all they're concerned about. They eat and when there's nothing to eat right in front of them, they look around, and the closest thing that looks good, they go over to it and they'll eat that, unless somebody in the flock starts to move. And if somebody in the flock starts to move, then they will just follow that.  There is some sense of hierarchy in a sheepfold, but it's not like in some animals.  Leadership sometimes is just whichever sheep moves first. That is the one that everybody else follows.  

So let's think about that.  Focused on consuming, looking just at what's close by for the next thing to consume until somebody gets up and starts to move. Sound like anybody you know?  A little like modern Americans, isn't it? Just focused on what the next thing is that we're going to consume, and if we're not careful, we can consume ourselves out of a pasture.

So sheep need a shepherd.  Sheep are in a pasture, and they don't think, "Well, gee, there's not as much to eat here now.  We need to start looking for somewhere else to go."  They don't think that far ahead, and they can't remember where the good pastures were, and they can't see high enough to look out and see where there might be some grass or some water.  They need a shepherd to lead them. 

Most of the time, sheep move from one place to another with the time year, with the climate.  In Spain, at the time of Christopher Columbus, they had huge herds that would go from one end of Spain to the other during the course of a year. That was how Isabella was able to finance Christopher Columbus, through these herds of sheep.  

If you live in Palestine, during the winter you keep the sheep in the lower levels because it gets a little chilly up in the mountains.  There's not much up there.  You keep them down low and then in the springtime, you take them back up into the mountain country where there's nice spring grass that hasn't been touched. But how do you get from the low country to the high country? If you've ever gone into the mountains, you notice you don't just keep going straight up.  You go up a hill and then you go back down into a valley, and then you go up another higher hill, and then you go back down into a valley.  It's not a straight line.  There are these valleys you have to get through.

So the shepherd has had the sheep in the winter down in low areas. Spring is coming, the pasture is getting kind of worn out, and the shepherd knows there's good grass up in the hills.  The sheep have no idea.  Now, you could, as a shepherd, sit down with the sheep and go, "Okay – okay, sheep, I want to explain to you what we're going to do. We're going to be going through some tough territory, but I want you to trust me that there is a good pasture up on top of this mountain.  It'll be worth it."  You could do that with sheep and they'd sit there and they'd go "baa" – and they'd have no idea what you were talking about.  Maybe a few might, but most of them would have no idea.  And so, what the shepherd has to do is just start going, and if the sheep trust the shepherd, they'll follow – well, unless there's a really good-looking thing to eat over here, and then one of the sheep might go over and have to nibble, and then – then you've got to go back and get a sheepdog to kind of get that sheep back in line.

But generally, they will follow the shepherd. Imagine, when the shepherd comes to a deep valley, and it's steep and it's dark and the sun doesn't get in there, and the sheep don't know what's going on.  They're going through this really difficult time, and they're tired, and it feels like the valley of the shadow of death.  But they keep following the shepherd because they trust the shepherd, and eventually they come out of the valley, and here is the beautiful green upland pasture, untouched by other sheep yet that year – lots of wonderful grass to eat.  

That's the image of the Good Shepherd that we hear in Scripture.  The image of the one who takes care of the flock, who knows a little more than they do and makes sure they have everything they need.  The people of Jesus's time would have certainly understood this. After all, in the Old Testament, Abraham became wealthy because of his flocks of sheep, and Jacob became wealthy because he was good at breeding sheep, and King David had been a shepherd before he became the king.  So it's part of the whole story.

So we, like sheep, are sometimes not real bright. For example, right now, we tend to consume and consume and consume and not really worry about whether there's gonna be enough there later.  So that's part of the Earth Day thing. Are we going to be narrow-minded sheep, just worrying about feeding ourselves or are we going to realize that we have to pay attention to what we're doing?  

And in our own personal lives, we all know, we've all gone through valleys of the shadow of death.  Every one of us here is old enough to have in one way or another experienced that shadow time, experienced that valley time, that time when we may have lost a job and not found another one yet.  We don't know what's on the other side but have come out the other side to discover a whole change in direction.  Or we've gone through grief and loss and found that Christ walked with us and that we were able to come out the other end.

About six or seven years ago, I was misdiagnosed. I had a disorder, and they misdiagnosed it, and they gave me medicine for it.  And the medicine made it worse.  So they gave me more of that.  And that made it even worse and also made me really confused.  And then, since that didn't work, they decided to give me another medicine on top of that until I was in the hospital and the problem had become so intense that they thought they might have to do surgery.  Finally, I got to a doctor who correctly diagnosed it, treated it, and I've had no problems since.  But during that period of time when I was misdiagnosed and on all these horrendous medications, I couldn't read, I couldn't think, and every time someone would come to visit, I would say, "Get out the 23rd Psalm. Read it to me."  Because I wanted to be reminded that while I was going through this valley, that on the other side of it, when I got to the other end of this, there was going to be something good and that Christ was with me as I walked through it.

That's the power of the 23rd Psalm.  That's the power of the Good Shepherd.  To know, no matter what, we're not alone.  And, no matter what, there's something good on the other side.  And in this season of Easter, when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, it says even if that shadow of death leads to the death of our bodies, that's not the end.  That even on the other end of that valley is a pasture, is a celebration, is peace and joy and the presence of God.  

Sometimes life leads us through very difficult things, and sometimes all we have to hold onto is keeping our eye on that Shepherd, knowing that the Shepherd is walking with us, and knowing that eventually, if we just keep putting one foot in front of the other, if we just keep our eyes on the Shepherd, it will be okay.  In fact, it will be more than okay and that our cup will runneth over.

And for us, on this Earth Day weekend, when we look around us and see what's happening to our environment, and as we, as human beings, have been asked to shepherd the world, we may feel that it's a dark time.  And we may be asked to go through a time when we stop just consuming and we have to give up some stuff in order to get to a place that's healthier for everybody. And it might not be real clear, and we might need to use our own minds and our own thoughts and our scientists because you know what - the Shepherd also gave us minds.  We're not as dumb as sheep.  In spite of the fact that we act like that sometimes.  We are not as dumb.  Unlike sheep, we are capable of seeing that we're overeating the pasture. The question is:  Are we ready to set out and go someplace new, whether it be as a culture or as an individual?  

I love the 23rd Psalm, and many of us have great fondness for the King James version of it.  So sit back, relax, and let me read it to you.

"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.  

He restoreth my soul.  

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.  

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, 

for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.  

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; 

thou anointest my head with oil; 

my cup runneth over.  

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; 

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."  Amen.

4 Easter B - Good Shepherd Sunday

4 Easter B - 5/7/06

The Rev. Valerie A. Hart, Ph.D.

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Brentwood

Yesterday, as you may have seen on the news, the Diocese of California elected its new bishop. You can find information about him at the diocesan website. If you want more information about the process you can speak to one of your delegates.

In the Gospel reading for today Jesus says that he is the Good Shepherd.  The diocese has elected a new shepherd, and in the prayer of that day we asked that God “send us as shepherds to rescue the lost, to heal the injured, and to feed one another with knowledge and understanding.” I like that prayer a great deal because it speaks to me of how we are all called to continue the ministry that Jesus began.

Let’s take a moment to think about the roles of a shepherd.

1.   The shepherd comforts the sheep. In the 23^rd psalm is a psalm of incredible comfort. It says, “your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” In the midst of struggle and pain the greatest comfort is to know that you do not walk alone. Jesus is a companion with us, he is the shepherd who walks beside us, even when we are going through deep and dark valleys. The shepherd comforts just by his presence.

2.   The shepherd also leads. The shepherd knows the way to green pastures and still waters. Sheep are not too smart. They would get lost, and perhaps starve, if they did not have someone to show them the way to good food and water. The shepherd walks ahead and the sheep follow behind.

3.   Although sheep have a tendency to follow, they also have a tendency to be very stubborn. Sometimes the shepherd leads, but the sheep don’t move. At times, instead of leading the shepherd has to get behind and nudge the sheep along. Sometimes it’s a gentle encouragement, sometimes the staff that is such a comfort can also be a motivator.

4.   But of course if the sheep are moving they do not always follow the direction the shepherd has been leading them. Sheep are led easily, but they are also easily led astray. The slightest distraction, and they have forgotten all about following the shepherd. An attractive bit of grass, a pretty flower, another sheep wandering, and the sheep is headed in the wrong direction. So the shepherd sometimes needs to use his shepherds crook to reach out and pull the sheep back on the right path. Sometimes that comforting staff needs to be used for discipline.

5.   Sometimes the flock gets separated. Then the shepherd has to bring the flock back together again. He has to go searching and seeking the sheep that are lost, even if that means leaving the others for a while. It’s not that the shepherd cares more for one sheep than another, it is just that there are times when one needs more attention.

The shepherd has a lot of duties. The owner cannot be in the lead and also making sure that the slow ones in the back keep up. He can’t be comforting the sheep that are afraid and also be searching for the ones who have strayed. If the flock is large, the owner of the flock will get help. Sometimes sheep dogs can help keep the flock together. But they are not able to decide where the flock is to go. They don’t know where the fresh water or green pastures are, but they do know the shepherd. A well trained sheep dog is constantly looking to the shepherd to know which way to steer the sheep. The dog runs around the flock, barking at one who is starting to stray, nipping at the ones moving too slowly, keeping an eye out that none get too far away, but always he is encouraging the flock to follow the shepherd.

The shepherd may also hire other people to help shepherd the flock. These hired hands also need to look to the shepherd, the owner, for direction. A good hired hand can be trusted by the owner to take the flock where he is told. If the owner says to take the flock up the mountain side, that is what the hired hand should do. Along the way he encourages the sheep and does his best to keep the sheep from straying. Of course the hired hands sometimes make mistakes. They are not has competent as the owner, they may get lost themselves, or not be able to find a lost sheep. And, as Jesus makes clear, the hired hand does not give his life for the sheep.

We are all called to help the shepherd. We are not the owners of the flock. There is only one owner, and that is the one who created the flock, the one who knows his sheep better than they know themselves. There is only one shepherd, and that is Christ. He is the one who values the sheep even more than his own life. It is Christ who died and rose again to demonstrate to the sheep that they are truly loved. Christ is our shepherd and through his death he showed us how deeply we are loved.

We are called to help the Shepherd. We work for him. We are to always look to him to know where to guide the sheep. We call the bishops the shepherds of their dioceses because they are given authority to lead the flock. They don’t lead the flock where they want to go, but where they understand the owner, the Good Shepherd, wants the flock to go. Bishops are the hired hands who are trusted by the shepherd enough lead the flock. Clergy on the other hand often refer to themselves as sheep dogs. We’re the ones running around barking all the time.

But we are all called to do the work of the Good Shepherd, not just those of us who are ordained.

     We are doing the work of the Good Shepherd when we walk with someone. Just by our presence with them on their journey, they are strengthened and comforted. We express the love of a shepherd when we listen to a person who is grieving, when we visit someone in the hospital, when we silently hold the hand of someone who is lonely.

When we live a life of love and integrity we become an example for others to follow. As the letter from John sates let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. We lead by our actions, we inspire others through our truth. In this way we show a shepherd’s love by our example.

Has there ever been a time when you saw one of your church friends avoiding following a call? You know, they have a sense of what Christ wants them to do, but they keep finding reasons not to move forward. Sometimes we show a shepherd’s love by getting behind and giving someone a nudge, or a loving kick in the….well you know.

We sometimes find it particularly difficult to tell someone when they are getting off the path, when they are going in the wrong direction. We don’t want to hurt their feelings; we don’t want to rock the boat; we don’t want to butt in. But, as said above, we are to live in truth and action. Love involves telling the truth, even when it is difficult or painful. People grow by learning how they have effected others. People get back on track only when someone cares enough to let them know they are going astray.

Finally, there are a lot of stray sheep out there. People wandering around with no idea which direction to go. People who have been led astray and have no idea how to get back to the flock. People who are living lives of isolation without realizing that there is a flock and there is a shepherd. We, as the shepherds hired hands, have a responsibility to seek out the lost sheep and guide them home. It is not enough for us to enjoy the great gift that we have received as followers of Christ, we are also called to share that gift with others.

Some of these may be more comfortable to you than others, I certainly have my comfort zones and my areas of discomfort, but we belong to the Good Shepherd. Christ did not call us to be comfortable. He is there to comfort us, but not so that we could stay comfortable. We are called to do Christ’s work in the world. We are all called to be shepherds for others.

I read about a church that has a group of people who are designated as shepherds. When a new person comes to their church they take on the responsibility of helping that person in their journey with Christ. This begins with making sure they feel welcome. For example they may helped to find their way in the prayer book, or to the bathroom. But it is a caring for the other that doesn’t end after that first visit. There is an intentional effort to keep in contact, to make sure that they meet others, to answer questions about the church, to encourage getting involved in programs, to walk with them through difficult times, to support them on their journey with Christ. These people take to heart the call to be  shepherds, and it is a powerful ministry. Great friendships can come from this, and a great sense of accomplishment.

I’d like to explore starting that kind of program here. Pray about it, see how you are being called to be a shepherd. We are all called. We may have different gifts and different ways of expressing those gifts. Some may be called to the ministry of presence by visiting people in a nursing home. some may seek out the lost and have a gift for telling others about Christ. Others may have a gift of discernment and feel called to help others hear where God is calling them. We are all different, but we are all called, we are all called to serve the Good Shepherd. How will you respond to that call?

4 Easter - Good Shepherd Sunday

Good Shepherd Sunday and Earth Day, how do they inform each other? What can we learn about our relationship to the environment by thinking about sheep?

4 Easter

Sermon Given on April 25, 2010

By Rev. Valerie Ann Hart

At St. Barnabas, Arroyo Grande, CA

Today is the fourth Sunday of Easter, and every year that is Good Shepherd Sunday, for we remember Christ as a shepherd.  It also turns out that this is the Sunday closest to Earth Day, and so it is Earth Sunday, a time to think about our environment, and I couldn't help but think that there had to be some kind of tie in between sheep and shepherds and Earth Day, that somehow that pastoral sense of caring for sheep and the pastoral sense of caring for the environment were somehow combined.  We'll see how that works out in the sermon.

How many of you have seen a live sheep? How many of you have seen a live sheep outside of a zoo or a petting zoo?  Seen a flock of sheep?  Hey, this group really knows animals.  Well, some of us grew up in the city and don't have that much familiarity with sheep.  Sheep are interesting animals.  They are the first animal that was domesticated for agricultural purposes.  They probably domesticated the dog first for hunting, but the domesticated sheep go back somewhere between seven and nine thousand years.  They've been around a long, long time.  And they think they probably were easily domesticated because of their tendency to follow whoever is moving, so it wasn't too hard for human beings to begin to herd them.  But it also means that sheep have been domesticated for so long that they can't survive in the wild.  If a sheep escapes from its fold, it will not be able to survive. 

Now, sheep have been given the rap of being really dumb.  I'm not sure they're quite as dumb as they're made out to be.  That might be how cowboys – you know, cattle herders, talk about sheep, but sheep are probably about as smart as a cow, which, of course, is not brilliant. Basically they have a one-pointed mind, and that is focusing on the ground and finding things to eat. And they are perfectly built for that. With their heads down they just kind of wander along and they look for anything that looks like it might taste good.  And also, the shape of their faces and their jaw is such that when they eat grass, they get it right down to the roots.  They get right down there because it's a thin face.  Cows and horses don't get as far down; they leave a little bit.  So if you have a flock of sheep that stay in the same pasture for a long time, they can rid it of all living things, and it's very hard for it to come back. So a good shepherd knows that you don't keep your sheep in one spot.  You move them from place to place.  They feed in one place and then you take them somewhere else. 

So, sheep are one-pointed, one-pointed consumers.  That's really all they're concerned about. They eat and when there's nothing to eat right in front of them, they look around, and the closest thing that looks good, they go over to it and they'll eat that, unless somebody in the flock starts to move. And if somebody in the flock starts to move, then they will just follow that.  There is some sense of hierarchy in a sheepfold, but it's not like in some animals.  Leadership sometimes is just whichever sheep moves first. That is the one that everybody else follows. 

So let's think about that.  Focused on consuming, looking just at what's close by for the next thing to consume until somebody gets up and starts to move.  Sound like anybody you know?  A little like modern Americans, isn't it?  Just focused on what the next thing is that we're going to consume, and if we're not careful, we can consume ourselves out of a pasture.

So sheep need a shepherd.  Sheep are in a pasture, and they don't think, "Well, gee, there's not as much to eat here now.  We need to start looking for somewhere else to go."  They don't think that far ahead, and they can't remember where the good pastures were, and they can't see high enough to look out and see where there might be some grass or some water.  They need a shepherd to lead them.

Most of the time, sheep move from one place to another with the time year, with the climate.  In Spain, at the time of Christopher Columbus, they had huge herds that would go from one end of Spain to the other during the course of a year.  That was how Isabella was able to finance Christopher Columbus, through these herds of sheep. 

If you live in Palestine, during the winter you keep the sheep in the lower levels because it gets a little chilly up in the mountains.  There's not much up there.  You keep them down low and then in the springtime, you take them back up into the mountain country where there's nice spring grass that hasn't been touched.  But how do you get from the low country to the high country? If you've ever gone into the mountains, you notice you don't just keep going straight up.  You go up a hill and then you go back down into a valley, and then you go up another higher hill, and then you go back down into a valley.  It's not a straight line.  There are these valleys you have to get through.

So the shepherd has had the sheep in the winter down in low areas. Spring is coming, the pasture is getting kind of worn out, and the shepherd knows there's good grass up in the hills.  The sheep have no idea.  Now, you could, as a shepherd, sit down with the sheep and go, "Okay – okay, sheep, I want to explain to you what we're going to do.  We're going to be going through some tough territory, but I want you to trust me that there is a good pasture up on top of this mountain.  It'll be worth it."  You could do that with sheep and they'd sit there and they'd go "baa" – and they'd have no idea what you were talking about.  Maybe a few might, but most of them would have no idea.  And so, what the shepherd has to do is just start going, and if the sheep trust the shepherd, they'll follow – well, unless there's a really good-looking thing to eat over here, and then one of the sheep might go over and have to nibble, and then – then you've got to go back and get a sheepdog to kind of get that sheep back in line.

But generally, they will follow the shepherd.  Imagine, when the shepherd comes to a deep valley, and it's steep and it's dark and the sun doesn't get in there, and the sheep don't know what's going on.  They're going through this really difficult time, and they're tired, and it feels like the valley of the shadow of death.  But they keep following the shepherd because they trust the shepherd, and eventually they come out of the valley, and here is the beautiful green upland pasture, untouched by other sheep yet that year – lots of wonderful grass to eat. 

That's the image of the Good Shepherd that we hear in Scripture.  The image of the one who takes care of the flock, who knows a little more than they do and makes sure they have everything they need.  The people of Jesus's time would have certainly understood this.  After all, in the Old Testament, Abraham became wealthy because of his flocks of sheep, and Jacob became wealthy because he was good at breeding sheep, and King David had been a shepherd before he became the king.  So it's part of the whole story.

So we, like sheep, are sometimes not real bright.  For example, right now, we tend to consume and consume and consume and not really worry about whether there's gonna be enough there later.  So that's part of the Earth Day thing. Are we going to be narrow-minded sheep, just worrying about feeding ourselves or are we going to realize that we have to pay attention to what we're doing? 

And in our own personal lives, we all know, we've all gone through valleys of the shadow of death.  Every one of us here is old enough to have in one way or another experienced that shadow time, experienced that valley time, that time when we may have lost a job and not found another one yet.  We don't know what's on the other side but have come out the other side to discover a whole change in direction.  Or we've gone through grief and loss and found that Christ walked with us and that we were able to come out the other end.

About six or seven years ago, I was misdiagnosed.  I had a disorder, and they misdiagnosed it, and they gave me medicine for it.  And the medicine made it worse.  So they gave me more of that.  And that made it even worse and also made me really confused.  And then, since that didn't work, they decided to give me another medicine on top of that until I was in the hospital and the problem had become so intense that they thought they might have to do surgery.  Finally, I got to a doctor who correctly diagnosed it, treated it, and I've had no problems since.  But during that period of time when I was misdiagnosed and on all these horrendous medications, I couldn't read, I couldn't think, and every time someone would come to visit, I would say, "Get out the 23rd Psalm.  Read it to me."  Because I wanted to be reminded that while I was going through this valley, that on the other side of it, when I got to the other end of this, there was going to be something good and that Christ was with me as I walked through it.

That's the power of the 23rd Psalm.  That's the power of the Good Shepherd.  To know, no matter what, we're not alone.  And, no matter what, there's something good on the other side.  And in this season of Easter, when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, it says even if that shadow of death leads to the death of our bodies, that's not the end.  That even on the other end of that valley is a pasture, is a celebration, is peace and joy and the presence of God. 

Sometimes life leads us through very difficult things, and sometimes all we have to hold onto is keeping our eye on that Shepherd, knowing that the Shepherd is walking with us, and knowing that eventually, if we just keep putting one foot in front of the other, if we just keep our eyes on the Shepherd, it will be okay.  In fact, it will be more than okay and that our cup will runneth over.

And for us, on this Earth Day weekend, when we look around us and see what's happening to our environment, and as we, as human beings, have been asked to shepherd the world, we may feel that it's a dark time.  And we may be asked to go through a time when we stop just consuming and we have to give up some stuff in order to get to a place that's healthier for everybody.  And it might not be real clear, and we might need to use our own minds and our own thoughts and our scientists because you know what - the Shepherd also gave us minds.  We're not as dumb as sheep.  In spite of the fact that we act like that sometimes.  We are not as dumb.  Unlike sheep, we are capable of seeing that we're overeating the pasture.  The question is:  Are we ready to set out and go someplace new, whether it be as a culture or as an individual? 

I  love the 23rd Psalm, and many of us have great fondness for the King James version of it.  So sit back, relax, and let me read it to you.

"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.  

He restoreth my soul. 

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.  

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,

for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.  

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;

thou anointest my head with oil;

my cup runneth over.  

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."  Amen.