Psalm 23

I have a friend, a good friend, with whom I disagree politically. That is, he is mostly conservative and I am mostly progressive (noting these labels are pretty general for all of us). He does a lot of ranting on FaceBook right now as do many others. And while I think disagreement can be a good and helpful thing, a conversation that can, at its best, lead to insightfulness and even empathy, current political disagreements have become hateful, hurtful, and harmful. 

Many now engage in negative partisanship. And it creates enemies out of friends.

In response to my friend I have chosen not to engage. I read his posts, but do not respond. I know it affects me, and could lead to the kind of estrangement that is difficult to reconcile. So I turned to the source I normally look to for guidance. I opened the Bible. Mind you, I open the Bible quite often. Daily. And I reflect on the day’s offering. 

Today it was the 23rd Psalm.

Now before any of you say, “Ah. I know that one. ‘The Lord is my Shepherd…’” I would warn, as I warn myself, not to be sure of what Psalm 23 says. Our familiarity can often hide new meanings, new ways of seeing things. For example, verse 6 makes two points I find worth noting. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me…”

The word mercy is translated from the Hebrew, hesed, which means love, a love found in relationship with others, already promised by God, along with the expectation that we respond to love by loving. Secondly, the word follow implies pursuit. God provides comfort and hospitality in the Psalm, and the promise of God’s love is backed up by God’s pursuit of you and me. This is no passive God here. God is after us! Loving us. Always the first actor. 

We can love because God first loved us. 

But is that how we respond, especially when it comes to politics? Is that how we participate on FaceBook? Even church communities struggle with those with whom they disagree, Christians and otherwise. Our human tendency is to distrust “others,” and reminds me of the Greek myth about Procrustes.

As the story goes, Procrustes invites weary sojourners into his home to rest, BUT he ties them up to the bed. If the bed is too short for the traveler, Procrustes chops off their limbs until they fit, or if the bed is too long, he puts them on a rack to stretch them out to fit the bed.

Our distrust, despite our best intentions, is to “fit” others into our understandings, our beliefs, and if that doesn’t work we simply make them an enemy. Psalm 23 implies that as well. While God provides a banquet for us, our enemies are left out, perhaps to rue the fact they are not part of the “in” group.

But Jesus, whom Christians see as the Good Shepherd in the Psalm, amplifies the Psalm by telling us to love our enemies. Even our enemies. 

In actual practice this would involve intentional efforts to work through disagreements by acknowledging that everyone has something to contribute to a solution that is best for all concerned.  We move from “either/or” language to “both/and” language. We affirm the genuine abundance provided to us rather than fret over the false belief that the pie is only so big, and we had better get our piece of it before someone else takes it. To treat our neighbors with compassion, as revealed in the Good Samaritan parable. 

So that’s our challenge. To pursue loving relationships, even when we disagree. Just like God does with us. Believe me, it’s easy to do. 

It’s also easy NOT to do. You choose.