Psalm 23 is one of the best-known and most beloved psalms. It is a song of trust that also has the character of a joyful profession of faith. Those who pray do so as part of the people of Israel, to whom the Lord promised through the prophets to be their Shepherd. The author proclaims his personal happiness in knowing he is protected in the Temple.[1], a place of refuge and grace. But, equally, with his experience he wants to encourage others to trust in the Lord's presence.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
This psalm invites us to strengthen our intimate relationship with God and to experience his love. Some may wonder: how is it possible that the author can say, "I lack nothing"? Our daily experience is never free from problems and challenges: health, family, work, etc., not to mention the immense suffering that so many of our sisters and brothers are experiencing today due to war, the consequences of climate change, migration, violence...
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
Perhaps the key to reading is in the verse that says "because you go with me" (Salt 23, 4). It is the certainty of the love of a God who always accompanies us and leads us to live our lives differently. Chiara Lubich wrote: "It is one thing to know that we can turn to a Being who exists, who has mercy on us, and who has paid for our sins, and another to live and feel ourselves the center of God's predilections, which consequently eliminates all fear that acts as a restraint, all loneliness, all sense of being orphaned, and all uncertainty. […] The person knows that they are loved and believes with all their being in this love. They abandon themselves to it with trust, and they want to follow it. The circumstances of life, sad or joyful, are illuminated by a motive of love that has willed or permitted them all."[2]
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
But the one who fulfilled this beautiful prophecy is Jesus, who in the Gospel of John does not hesitate to call himself "the Good Shepherd." The relationship with this shepherd is characterized by a personal and intimate bond: "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me" (Jn 10, 14). He leads them to the pastures of his Word, which is life; in particular, the Word that contains the message expressed in the "new Commandment," which, if lived, makes the presence of the Risen One "visible" in the community gathered in his name, in his love (cf. Mt 18, 20).[3]
Augusto Parody Reyes and the Word of Life team
[1] Cf. Ps 23:6.
[2] C. LUBICH, «The Essentials of Today»: Spiritual Writings/2, Madrid 1999, p. 148.
[3] Cf. Mt 18:20.
