I periodically read Psalm 23 when among the frail. It is a beautiful psalm of life, and I encourage the residents to read and pray this psalm as often as they pray the Lord's prayer. Sometimes, residents will recite at least some of the psalm from memory as I read. I love those moments.
This weekend I visited a rehab hospital. There, the residents who gather with us are quite frail. As I read these words: " He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul," I noticed that both activity assistants had fallen asleep. While they may have simply been bored, I sensed a need to rest, and I was grateful they were able to do so in our presence.
As I continued, Eve came into the room. I had to pause a moment and wave as tears came to my eyes. I was so grateful to see this tiny woman alive and walking on her own with the assistance of her walker. I had not seen her since before the pandemic. She waved back and smiled. As she settled in and I handed her a song sheet, the words continued, "for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me." I suddenly had a new appreciation of a walker as sacred.
I quietly celebrated the table of people in front of me, and I knew the goodness and mercy of which the psalmist sang. Then David arrived in his wheelchair. I had not seen him since before the pandemic either. We, too, waved to one another and I knew I was in the house of the Lord. And David, as he always did, finished the psalm with an amen. At the end of the service, Eve took her song sheet and held it to her heart. She indicated she wanted to keep it.
When the words come alive and you want to make them your own, that is worship. To be there with those who had been gathered was an anointing and yes, my cup overflows.
Walkers, wheel chairs, weariness, and illness all belong in the house of the Lord. Jesus continues to teach me this, and I am grateful.
As David would no doubt say,
Amen.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
Psalm 23, NRSV
image: San Leandro, sometime in 2020
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