Scattered Flock

For today’s readings on bad shepherds, the Good Shepherd, and the 23rd Psalm:

Good Shepherd, we have scattered in our fear,
and, troubled by our shadows now, we balk.
Come find us in the wilds and draw us near
and gather us again into your flock.

Worn out, for every step we took was wrong,
we hunger for the pastures of your rest.
Our weary hearts have thirsted for so long:
Oh, lead us to the waters that refresh!

Lord, spread your table near our enemies,
and make it long, for we ourselves are foes,
then bid us all sit down with you and feast
on broken bread, and wine that overflows.

And when the meal is finished, lead us out
forever in the pathways of your peace,
the road that winds at last up to your home.
Let love and mercy follow at our feet.

Then even in the valley of our death,
though once we fled we will no longer fear,
for you are with us, every pulse and breath.
Our Shepherd, you will stay forever near.

Woodcut of Christ carrying the Lamb, illustration from the prayerbook of Martin Luther By Sebald Beham – British Museum, [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32907633

Feed

You feed me, and I hunger still.
You give me drink, and still I thirst
as if my cup will never fill.
I am as hungry as at first.

So I must call to you again,
you who have given o'er and o'er,
world without end, amen, amen.
I still must ask you more and more.

You daily hear, and daily give.
You pour anew the blood-red wine
and bless the bread I need to live.
You fill again these hands of mine,

for you have made me hollow, Lord,
this earthen vessel from your hand.
You chose the substance, chose the form:
Forever empty I shall stand.

Forever you will fill my need.
Forevermore I shall not want.
In verdant pastures where you lead,
I'll drink forever from the font

and I will eat the bread you made.
Forever you will nourish me
there at the table you have laid
and laid again eternally.

Woman baking bread (c. 2200 BC); Louvre, Photo By Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69938567

Valley

They shall live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob,
the land where their fathers lived;
they shall live on it forever,
they, and their children, and their children’s children,
with my servant David their prince forever.
I will make with them a covenant of peace;
it shall be an everlasting covenant with them,
and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever.
Ezekiel 37:21-28

And yea, though we must walk the valley here—
the road runs through the shadow of our death—
we shall not linger in the vale of tears,
but go to where the Shepherd gives us rest:

a homeland where the harvest never fails;
a city where the gates are open wide,
where peace lets out at last a long exhale;
a living spring that never will run dry;

where there are no more wars, no sword that falls;
no mothers weep to kiss their sons goodbye;
where no one trembles when the trumpet calls.
It says, The feast begins!  Come all inside!

For he has laid a table in our sight,
and there beside our foes we take our seats
where all our cups run over with new wine
and Christ himself breaks bread, that we may eat.

When shall we see the breaking of that dawn?
O, pierce the shadows!  Let us see the road.
We follow in the way all flesh has gone—
But lead us on, beyond where death can go.

Make straight the way, though all our steps may fail.
In darkness still, we shall not wander blind,
for we shall be your pilgrims in the vale:
Leave love and mercy there for us to find.

The Old Tower in the Fields (1884) By Vincent van Gogh – Christie’s, LotFinder: entry 5790823 (sale 2846, lot 267, New York, 7 May 2014), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32286355

Foes

O Shepherd, set your table
in sight of all my foes;
break for us all the same bread,
as each cup overflows
with pardon for the sinner
and healing for the sick.
O, let me drink forgiveness,
and heal me where I sit.

For where you go, I follow,
but I have fallen, too—
my prayers and praises hollow,
betrayed by what I do.
You pour the cup of mercy
and let me drink it dry,
but all of us are thirsting
beneath the desert sky.

Give us the bread we ache for,
let mercy's waters flow
before we reach the shadow
where each of us must go:
the pilgrim bread unleavened,
the blessed wine we take,
and every crumb is heaven,
and every sip is grace.

A Kremikovtsi Monastery fresco (15th century) depicting the Last Supper celebrated by Jesus and his disciples. The early Christians too would have celebrated this meal to commemorate Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection. By Edal Anton Lefterov – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15129262

Shadowed Valley

Based on Psalm 23, for getting through a hard time.

What is the path before my feet?
Where does it lead at last?
My shepherd walks it, sure and fleet,
and I must follow fast.

A shadowed valley it runs through,
but fearless I will go,
for Christ, I merely follow you,
and bright your footsteps show.

However dark the vale may be,
still you will give me rest
and with your presence comfort me,
however stern the test.

Your table spread to nurture well
my strength against the foe,
you fill my soul, my heart indwell,
and oh! I overflow.

You walk beside me in the night,
your kindness in our wake.
Our road will end in endless light
when dawn, at last, shall break.

By Eastman Johnson, The Lord Is My Shepherd, 1863 – This file was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of a cooperation project., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23933252

According to Wikipedia, this image of a black man reading was painted shortly after the Emancipation Proclamation. The man’s blue clothes may indicate that he was a Union soldier, and the fact that he’s reading may symbolize how important literacy was in the lives of freedmen. I had to look it up, because I’d never seen this image before and was struck by it.