Saturday, November 9: “Bountiful Shepherd”

Psalm 23: 1, 5b:“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want … My cup overflows.”

What David shows us here is actually the fulfillment of the Aaronic blessing of Numbers 6: 22 that Sirach explored in the MDR’s first scripture this week (November 3). Israel’s greatest king, however, adds an important context: To receive these abundant blessings from the Lord, we have to remain in the flock, true to the shepherd. A straying sheep may receive the shepherd’s attention, even His efforts to find His prodigal, but the blessings of the flock are received with the flock, from the shepherd’s hand and heart. That’s why the Lord’s Prayer contains the words “our”, “us”, and “we”, but not “I”, “me”, and “my’, by the way.