COLUMN: Grey Matters – A hospital chaplain reflects on Psalm 23 – Part 1

“Sheep are notorious creatures of habit. If left to themselves, they will follow the same trails until they become ruts; graze the same hills until they turn to desert wastes; pollute their own ground until it is corrupt with disease and parasites. … No other class of livestock requires more careful handling, more detail direction, than do sheep.” -W Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.

As a hospital chaplain, I never tire of reading Psalm 23 aloud. The words are familiar, yet each time I speak them at a bedside, another jewel catches the light. The next two weeks, I will share a few of those gems.

1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Sometimes when I introduce Psalm 23 to patients in the hospital I start with a story. A Sunday School class was learning Psalm 23 to recite before the church. One little boy was especially excited because he had never memorized anything before. Week after week, he diligently learned each verse. Finally, the day arrived. Standing before the microphone, he confidently began: “The Lord is my shepherd…” Then he stopped. More hesitation. Finally, he blurted, ‘that’s all I need to know’ and ran off the stage. When it comes to our final days this is so true. Our intellect, or cognition slows down and sometimes all we can do is remember that ‘the Lord is my shepherd’. Too much of our life we live as if we don’t have a shepherd, not realizing that we are just vulnerable sheep in a world of wolves.

2 “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters.” We often think of God as a taskmaster, but have you considered that He may be the one insisting that we rest? As the years pass, we spend less time doing and more time being. We lie in beds where we once stood at workbenches, desks, and kitchen counters. We may feel useless or forgotten. Yet perhaps God is not punishing us with rest. Perhaps He is inviting us into it. Perhaps He is drawing near and saying, “Be still. Let us spend some time together.” Still waters are also important because sheep don’t like to drink from moving water. In the hospital many patients are surrounded by rushing waters. There are people constantly coming into the room, machines beeping, diagnoses, treatments, unanswered questions, and fears about the future. God does not remove all the turbulence around us. Instead, like a shepherd, He creates a place of stillness away from it. God knows that weary souls need more than this frenetic pacing. We need places of peace. Sometimes the still waters are not merely a destination, they are an invitation.

3 “He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” I can tell that some patients have worked hard with their hands. I ask them if they have helped restore an old house or car. Then I ask, ‘who can restore a soul’? A house can be repaired. A vehicle can be rebuilt. But the soul is deeper and more enduring than either. Only God can restore our souls to their original glory. How wonderful to have someone lead us on the paths that are good. ‘For His name’s sake’ is also good news. If God’s care depended on our ‘good name’, our performance, we would constantly wonder whether we had done enough. God’s faithfulness rests on His name, His unchanging character. He restores because He is Restorer. He guides because He is Shepherd. At a hospital bedside, many people look back on their lives and wonder if they have wandered too far, made too many mistakes, or failed too often. Psalm 23:3 gently answers: the Shepherd does not restore your soul because you have been a perfect sheep. He restores your soul because He is the Good Shepherd. He remains faithful to His name, even when we have not been faithful to ours. Simply put, the sheep’s hope is not found in its ability to stay on the path, but in the Shepherd’s commitment to bring it home.

Gary Dyck is a chaplain and spiritual care provider at a hospital and personal care home in the Southeast.