Message from the chaplain: 5 November 2021

REVD RAKGADI KHOBO

The Lord is my shepherd,
I need nothing more.
You give me rest in green meadows,
setting me near calm waters,
where you revive my spirit.

You guide me along sure paths,
you are true to your name.
Though I should walk
in death’s dark valley,
I fear no evil with you by my side,
your shepherd’s staff to comfort me.

You spread a table before me
as my foes look on.
You soothe my head with oil;
my cup is more than full.

Goodness and love will tend me
every day of my life.
I will dwell in the house of the Lord
as long as I shall live.

(Translation: ICEL Psalter)

Psalm 23 is well-known; what is striking about it is the comparison it draws. It presents us with an image of God as a shepherd. In our Senior Primary chapel service, we looked at the psalm as David telling us how he understands and experiences God. This approach led to some interesting and fruitful discussions in which the girls shared their images of to whom or to what they would compare God.

The good thing about the discussion is that it allowed the girls to engage with scripture and grow their understanding of God. As a priest, I have to resist the temptation to give the girls ready-made answers and images of God. I have to remember, prayer is friendship with God; just as we each find our ways of friendship, we all need to experiment and try things out to find our way of being friends with God.

REVD RAKGADI KHOBO
CHAPLAIN

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