We’ve all heard Psalm 23 many times over the course of our lives. We’ve seen it stitched into needlepoint, heard it read at funerals, and even encountered it woven into popular music and culture. As one writer puts it, Psalm 23 has become something of a “secular icon.” It belongs not only to the religious but to the human imagination. And that raises a question: why this psalm? Why does this ancient image of God as a shepherd continue to comfort people in a post‑modern world?

A Reflection for Monday, February 23 by Rev. Kelly Johnston Lectionary reading for 2/23/2025: Psalm 32; 1 Kings 19:1-8; Hebrews 2:10-18 Selected passage for reflection: 1 Kings 19:1-8 Read 1 Kings 19:1-8 NIV Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one

David said to God, “Wasn’t I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these