Psalm 23 (ESV)
There was a time when much of the world was uncharted and unknown. Mapmakers would portray these uncharted areas with symbols of dragons and monsters.
One time a Roman commander and his battalion were caught up in a battle that took them into one of these uncharted regions. Unsure whether to forge ahead or turn back, the commander dispatched a messenger to Rome with an urgent request: Please send new orders. We have marched off the map.
One might argue that we have marched off the map as church and nation over the last few years, months, and even weeks. We are in uncharted waters when it comes to the politics of our time and the public health threat we face. Technology is marching ahead at double-time, environmental issues are portrayed as dragons and monsters we must face.
We turn to the scriptures for our marching orders. Today, we take a closer look at Psalm 23, for this passage has captured and comforted the hearts of generations. It is arguably one of the most cherished and quoted, and it even inspires parodies, such as: The smartphone is my shepherd. I shall not want. It makes me lie down on the sofa. It leads me away from personal conversation. It destroys my soul. And it speaks of the uncharted and unknown in our lives: the valley of the shadow.
None of us gets through life without walking a few of these uncharted valleys. Note in our scripture that there is no “if” about the reality of life’s obstacles and problems to be faced in daily life, whether eating, drinking, walking, working or resting. However, it is clear that God does not intend for us to stay in the shadow, even though we may not be able to hurry through it. Psalm 23 holds up before us the assurance that even though we walk through a valley of the shadow, even though we may march off the map of experience, we walk through it without fear because we have someone with us issuing new orders.
Though and through – the only difference between them is an “r”. Why would that matter? It wouldn’t ordinarily – except for the time I was visiting a Christian man named Charlie in the hospital. He was awaiting test results and mentioned he should keep his fingers crossed. “I didn’t know you were superstitious in that way,” I said. He replied, “I’m not. Crossing fingers is a Christian symbol. In the early church, when Christians were being persecuted, they would signal to one another by crossing their fingers. They were saying, we are people of the cross, followers of the Christ who suffered for us so that we do not need to fear anymore.
This sign has been passed down through the ages. Some use it for good luck. I remember as a child thinking that crossing your fingers behind your back made telling a little white lie okay.
There’s the time a soldier visited a fellow soldier’s pastor and told him about seeing his friend cross his fingers when in danger. The pastor explained that the children in Sunday school crossed their fingers as they memorized Psalm 23.
During the clean-up after Flight 427 went down on 9/11 – another time when America found herself in uncharted territory – the supervisor was asked what it was like. The thing that affected him most, he said, was finding someone with their fingers crossed.
Mother Teresa, responding to a pandemic and trying to help those who were sick, hurting and grieving, believed that God was speaking through that disease. What might God be saying to us now through this crisis?
For one, I believe God speaks to us through Psalm 23 as we face this disease at this time. Remember that little “r” I mentioned earlier, the difference between though and through? In sign language, you make an “r” by crossing your fingers. So, in times such as this, think of Psalm 23 and Keep Your Fingers Crossed! We have a Lord who will get us through. We have our marching orders with a Shepherd who knows the way.
Crossed-fingers have also been used for a blessing called Christus Victor. You raise your crossed fingers and say, “May Christ be Victorious in Your Life.” Victorious on the cross over the powers of sin and death, the Lord is with us, able to restore us, lead us and comfort us in every circumstance and situation in life. This is why, with fingers crossed, we join with generations of believers as we recite these last words of David’s psalm:
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.