“He leads me in right paths for his name’ sake.” (Psalm 23:3 NRSV)
The third Sunday of the Easter season has come to be known as “Good Shepherd” Sunday, because the lectionary texts always include some portion of the 10th chapter of John, in which Jesus speaks of himself as the “Good Shepherd,” and Psalm 23, which portrays God as the shepherd of Israel. This Sunday, my sermon will focus on Psalm 23. This post concentrates specifically on one image found in the psalm.
Among the many interesting discoveries I made while visiting the Holy Land in 2008 was the meaning of the “right paths” or “paths of righteousness” referenced in Psalm 23:3. As can be seen in the picture to the right, the steep hillsides in the Judean wilderness are often full of narrow ridges. These are the paths that have been cut by Bedouin shepherds. It is simply not possible for the sheep to ascend or descend the hills directly. They are too steep. So the shepherds lead the sheep in these narrow switchbacks – “right paths” – that prevent them from tumbling toward injury or even death.
When a resident of Judea pointed out these sheep paths to me, I was instantly intrigued by the meaning they bring to the familiar line, “He leads me in paths of righteousness.” Bedouin shepherds know that the shortest path between two points is not always the “right” one. In the hilly desert, the narrow circuitous switchbacks provide the sheep a safe way to cross over difficult terrain. In the same way, God provides for us right paths that will get us where we need to go, but they are slow and narrow rather than quick and easy.
My hiking in the Adirondack Mountains offers a similar parable. The mountains are too steep to climb directly. Even the rock climbers who want to go straight up are limited to the few open slides, which usually don’t extend all the way to the summit. In most cases, the only way to the top of a high mountain is through a series of switchbacks that have been cut by those who know the forest well.
So what do the “paths of righteousness”/ “right paths” tell us about life?
First, when we take short cuts or try to create our own paths, ignoring the wisdom of those who have traveled ahead of us, we get ourselves into trouble. To follow the Good Shepherd is to exercise patience. It is to understand that the best way is not always the quickest way. The hurried life invites peril.
Second, it is always wise to notice where others have already traveled. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that when it comes to a journey of faith, bushwhacking is never a good idea. Thousands of years of spiritual wisdom are already at our disposal. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look to Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” He’s already blazed the trail of faithfulness for us. To strike out arrogantly on our own is, from the very beginning, an act of unfaithfulness.
Third, following the right path means watching our footsteps closely. Eight times, the book of Deuteronomy speaks of following the Lord’s commands as “walking in obedience.” God doesn’t merely give us a compass and tell us to walk in a general direction. The Bible provides us with a rather detailed map. For the ancient Israelites, following the right path meant carefully following every precept of the Law of Moses, and by doing so, including God in every detail of life. As Christians, we are not bound by the letter of the law, but this does not mean we don’t have to take care in how we walk. “We were buried with Christ by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too might walk in the newness of life” (Romans 6:4). To walk the right path is to be ever mindful of Christ, who not only joins us on the path, but also makes the way for us. Remembering that Jesus had said, “I am the Way” (John 14:6), the earliest generation of his followers referred to their movement as “the Way” (Acts 9:2, 19:9, 22:4, 24:2). Discipleship to Christ is a “path of righteousness.” Christ doesn’t deploy us to stake out a new path; he calls us to follow him.
On a hiking excursion in Israel, I had the occasion to follow one of these sheep paths up a steep incline. Because the only vegetation was short and scrubby, the view back down into the valley was unobstructed. But in order to enjoy that scene, it was necessary to stop. If I took my eyes off the path, I would easily veer away from it. Like the trails I follow in the Adirondacks, that one served to remind me to walk patiently, carefully, and always mindful of the path laid out for me.
Copyright 2012 by J. Mark Lawson
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