“Who is my Enemy?”
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…”
In the gospel of Luke 10:25-29, Jesus is asked by a lawyer what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks, what is written in the law? The lawyer responds, to love God and neighbor. It is the correct answer, and Jesus praises him, but the lawyer can’t let it go. He asks: Who is my neighbor? Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan, where the neighbor turns out to be who the audience would have thought of as an enemy. It is a Samaritan who is shockingly the hero of a story being told to Jews. (They didn’t like each other.)
Now, Psalm 23 is perhaps one of the most beloved pieces of scripture in the entire Bible. I have preached, taught and used that scripture many times. I have read it at countless funerals and grave sides. It is comforting to hear that even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we are not alone, God is with us. The entire psalm is filled with comforting thoughts and images of what the Good Shepherd will provide. Seemingly every need will be met even to dwelling in the house of the Lord forever.
As much as I have preached and taught this psalm, I’ve never really been clear on how to approach verse 5a: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” And with no real understanding of how to approach it, I ignored it. Why would the Good Shepherd prepare a table in the presence of my enemies, put the sheep at the table with the wolves?
One possible answer is that God, the Good Shepherd will protect the sheep even as they are in the presence, at the table, with the wolves. The ultimate protection. Even when things are most dire, God’s protection is there.
I have come to a different conclusion influenced by the events of the past weeks and the ever-present rhetoric that seeks to divide us from our neighbors and call them our enemies. I’m sure you have heard it as well. The immigrant is our enemy, the LGBTGIA person is our enemy, the Democrats are our enemy, the Republicans are our enemy. The list goes on and on. It feels like we can only define who we are against someone else with whom we might disagree.
So, here is my new interpretation of this phrase. Through the lens of what is happening in the world, and the lens of the Good Samaritan … We aren’t enemies! We are neighbors! Now I am hearing in this phrase the Good Shepherd saying you aren’t really enemies. Come sit at the table, listen to one another. You might learn something, and you might teach something. But, just screaming enemy at one another isn’t helpful. Identifying everyone who is “other” as enemy isn’t helpful.
Maybe the Good Shepherd is saying they aren’t your enemy. Come to the table, sit together, eat together. You aren’t enemies – you are neighbors, beloved children of God.
Peace
Dave