The devotion led Sunday morning for the Religious Sudies leaders at West End Collegiate Church fell to a man named Bob, a judge in Albany and one of the pillars of WECC. He deconstructed Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd...").
Everone knows it rather inside and out, but Bob journeyed through its imagery and the journey of the speaker from symbolic sheep or lamb to fully restored human.
It was a smart and carefully considered examination, but what intrigued me most was Bob's take on one of the lines as opposed to the interpretation I've always assumed and never questioned.
The line is this: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." I guess the intrigue was over the interpretation of the word table. For Bob it meant a dinner table. I will feed you to show your enemies that you are provided for. You shall be sustained. You shall be given more than you can possibly consume. I had always envisioned the table as an altar, meaning to me that you shall always, even in the midst of strife, be able to find comfort in prayer and consolation with God. Two similar yet definitely, if subtly differing interps.
I love parsing the Bible and belong to that group of folks who actually read it faithfully. Bob and I need to sit down and compare notes on the thornier parts (for instance, that nutcase Jael in Judges. That dame needs help!).
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