"Floating With Faith"
Psalm 23; John 10:22-30
Abigail Chamblee, Westmoreland UCC
May 11, 2025
Before I start: I just want to draw your attention to the handout you received with your bulletin! [At the end of the text if viewing online!] We will be making our own Psalm 23 – which I will explain in my sermon. There are pens and markers on the aisle side of the pews – you may need to share.
But you can use those to “fill in the blanks” of the Psalm – and you will have the chance to share at the end of the sermon or during joys and concerns. About two weeks ago, my partner Laura and I were in the Florida Keys and went on a snorkeling trip! This was my second time snorkeling and Laura’s first, and we were excited to see all the wildlife.
As they prepped us to snorkel, they told us that we could use a pool noodle to help stay afloat, and minimize the need to swim around ... just chill on the pool noodle and look at the beautiful things! Sounds nice and easy, right?
About 10 minutes in, I noticed that I was trying so hard to swim with this pool noodle. I don't even know what I was trying to do, but I was exerting so much effort! When I realized this, I just stopped, let my body relax, and tried to use the noodle for its intended purpose – to float!
Why do we swim? Why, when we have our pool noodle, or like the Psalm and Gospel say, when we have our Shepherd, our guide … do we swim? Why do we make things so difficult for ourselves?
Why do we do this when we know that we have the Good Shepherd? Jesus says in the John passage, I have shown you! I have shown you with my acts of care, and love and grace, that I am the Messiah, the Good Shepherd – I am your pool noodle! I am there to carry you, to hold you as you go through the dark water, to let you rest as you float.
For me, this pool noodle experience was one where I was able to stop and experience God’s grace and God’s voice, reminding me to relax and take in creation. Reminding me that I am held – and to use this as a sign I can take with me in other, more normal life situations.
Like when I walk through, as the Psalm says, The dark shadow” of a long to-do list with many not fun tasks, I can just stop and float for a second. Instead of thinking “how in the world am I going to get this done!” I can just stop for a moment and feel God’s care, God’s hands, God’s love. My pool noodle.
I can remember that I am one of Jesus’ flock – as are you! We are held and we are loved, we don’t need to keep swimming and working so hard against ourselves.
It can be difficult to remember this, to remember what the Gospel and the Psalm tell us that the “Lord is [our] Shepherd” our guide through difficult times, showing us goodness and mercy all of our days!
And I’ll be honest, I struggle to remember this, especially because I haven’t always loved this psalm. When I opened my laptop last Monday morning and looked at the lectionary for this Sunday, I heard God laughing with me. Because this psalm has been following me recently, much to my annoyance.
A few weeks ago, I lost a friend. His name was Michael and he passed away at 80 years old. Michael is a friend from L’Arche – an intentional community of people with and without intellectual disabilities, sharing life together in Washington, DC. L’Arche is an international organization, started by Catholic theologian Jean Vanier in France, and although the beginnings of that first French community have been uncovered to have been complicated to say the least, beautiful and intentional L’Arche communities have flourished across the globe, including right down the road in Adams Morgan and Northern Virginia. The first DC community began in 1983, and my friend Michael was a founding member! I bring up Michael because upon entering hospice care a few weeks ago, one of his requests was to have friends and community members read to him Psalm 23, and on the back of the prayer cards given out at his Memorial service was none other than Psalm 23.
God had been leading me to this psalm, and I think saying “girl you’re gonna have to float through this one! “
Michael was a good “floater” – he trusted others and gave endless grace to those around him, so it makes sense that he liked this Psalm. Well, endless Grace conditional on only one thing – if he got his McDonald’s coffee that day. Rain or shine, frigid temperatures or blazing heat – he would have his 3 small decaf coffees with cream and sugar. Yes 3. And yes, I sat with him in 100-degree heat while he sipped his hot coffee, happy as a clam.
If Michael rewrote the psalm, he would probably say – “the lord is my McDonald’s coffee, it makes me feel calm and content, and leads me to connection with my community, it leads me through rainy days, it brings me comfort and rest.”
If I were to rewrite this psalm based on my snorkeling experience, I would say, “The Lord is my pool noodle, I shall not sink. He makes me buoyant and leads me to see the beauty in front of me, Even though I swim through dark, murky water, I do not fear.”
Maybe on more normal days, my psalm may be more like Michael's “The Lord is my extra large iced coffee, I shall not get distracted... Even as I walk through the valley of depression and ADHD executive dysfunction, I do not stress, for you are with me.”
So now is your turn to write your psalm.
What images evoke a feeling of comfort, of God being with you? What leads you to calm, connectedness, and rest? What is your dark, shadowy valley?
What makes you feel safe, like you are like Jesus’ sheep, safe in his arms, not to be “snatched” away?
Does it relate to a recent experience you have had, or to everyday occurrences?
Anything goes! And remember, as you write this, to float! Don’t over-exert yourself and make it hard; just flow with what comes to you, don’t make it perfect. The fill-in-the-blanks are there to be a guide, you don’t need to follow them exactly.
I will ask if anyone wants to share now, I will come down and give you the microphone, and you are also called to share during the prayers of the people if you need more time!
[TIME OF CONGREGATIONAL SHARING]
Amen.
