Timmy's Mom loved him very much and, being a worrier, she was concerned about him walking to school when he started kindergarten. She walked him to school the first couple of days, but when he came home one day, he told his mother that he did not want her walking him to school every day. He wanted to be like the "big boys." He protested loudly, so she had an idea of how to handle it.

She asked a neighbor, Mrs. Goodnest, if she would surreptitiously follow her son to school, at a distance behind him that he would not likely notice, but close enough to keep a watch on him. Mrs. Goodnest said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.

The next school day, Mrs. Goodnest and her little girl, Marcy, set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor boy he knew. She did this for the whole week. As the boys walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, the little friend of Timmy noticed that this same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. Finally, he said to Timmy, "Have you noticed that lady following us all week? Do you know her?" Timmy nonchalantly replied, "Yea, I know who she is." The little friend said, "Well who is she?" "That's just Shirley Goodnest" Timmy said. "Shirley Goodnest? Who the heck is she and why is she following us?" "Well," Timmy explained, "every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers cuz she worries about me so much. And in it, the psalm says, "˜Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life.' So I guess I'll just have to get used to it.
 
Like Timmy, we have to get used to it as well. We have to get used to the fact that “goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.” It is the reality of our lives as children of God. But what does that really mean anyway? After all, most of us in this room have experienced things in our lives that don’t seem at all like “goodness and mercy” are following us in our lives.
 
Obviously the writer of Psalm 23 has experienced things in his life as well that would make it seem like “goodness and mercy” were far away. And yet, the writer trusts in this Shepherd. Even in the darkest valley of the psalmist’s life – he trusts that the Shepherd hasn’t left him. Not only has the Shepherd not left him, but he finds comfort in the knowledge the shepherd is there guiding his journey through the dark valley with a rod and staff – setting the boundaries to keep the psalmist safe.
 
Today as we once again celebrate the 4th Sunday in Easter - Good Shepherd Sunday - we are reminded that the Shepherd in whom the psalm writer places his trust – this “good and merciful” shepherd - doggedly pursues us in this life. We are reminded as Eugene Peterson says in his Message translation that “the Divine Shepherd’s beauty and love chase after us every day of our lives. Everywhere we go. Every moment of every day, this Shepherd, whom the writer of Psalm 23 speaks of, is by our side – is literally chasing after us when we go astray.
 
But how do we know the Shepherd is there? Jesus says in the Gospel of John that he is the shepherd and that we – the sheep know his voice. But how do we hear the shepherd’s voice in the midst of all that is going on around us in our world? How do we hear the Shepherd’s voice amidst all the other voices and noises that compete for our attention each day?  Between Cell phones, Facebook, e-mail, twitter and the like we are constantly communicating with others.  With an estimated equivalent of 174 newspapers of data bombarding us every day how can we pick out the Shepherd’s voice in the midst of all that noise?
 
Maybe we are like Ellen, an elderly lady whose hearing had largely failed.  People trying to communicate with Ellen would draw close and shout loudly.  They would cup their hands and scream into her ears.  And even with all of this, Ellen would often shake her head and sigh that she was unable to hear.  Ellen was married to a kind and patient man with whom she had shared love and life for more than 60 years.  It was strange to many that she could hear him when she was able to hear no one else.  He would take her frail hand in his, look deeply into her eyes, and speak distinctly in a tone that seemed only a tiny bit louder than normal.  And the wife he loved always heard and understood.
 
Why could she hear his voice?  It was a matter of relationship.  There was a bond of understanding, trust, mutual love and a sense of kindness that let the man have patience with his hard of hearing wife, and let her trust him for she knew he wanted what was only the best for her. 
 
It is in knowing the shepherd who doggedly pursues us that we can hear the Shepherd’s voice. It is in knowing the loving, gracious and merciful character of the Shepherd who wants only the best for us and trusting this One that the Psalm writer speaks of. One who knows us so well that this Shepherd knows when we need to be forced to lie down in green pastures and led to still waters of rest, refreshment and restoration. It is in the rhythm of a life that knows the guiding shepherd that our ears are opened to hear and recognize the Shepherd’s voice over the din of other competing voices. Voices that would lead us to continue to seek that which does not lead to the abundant life that Jesus says he came to give us. It is in knowing that this Shepherd’s beauty and love will chase us –as long as we live that we find rest and restoration for even in the darkest valleys we are assured that we are never alone. “Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives.” We’ll just have to get used to it. Amen.