Daily Worship

Fear no evil

Katy Emslie-Smith May 10, 2014 0 0

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    for ever.

God,
To witness a dying
Changes us.
The moment when,
In the space of a breath and a final pulse,
All that life has been,
Still waters, green pastures, shadows,
Becomes remembered,
And all that has been hoped for
Becomes an uncertain assurance.

The thinnest of places, 
When eternity settles with the draught
Of a butterfly’s wing,
And into the darkened valley
Goodness and mercy follow still.

God, in the beat of a pulse
And the whisper of final breath,
As life gives into death,
Here you place your gift of grace:
A call to a table, a meal,
To anointed honour, 
An invitation home.

Death gives into life.
We will fear no evil here.

 

by Katy Emslie-Smith