Where do you want to live?, a reflection on Psalm 23

Gary Sims, when he used to write the Reflections each week for First United Methodist, Albuquerque, asked these questions:

Do you dwell in the house of the Lord? If not, when are you planning to move in? Will it be after you take care of a few things in your life? Do you have an agenda or plan that you want to follow before turning your life over to God? Are you putting God's goodness and mercy on hold? Are you counting your blessings to see if your cup is overflowing? Are you looking for a bigger cup? Do you see that now is the time to move into God's house so that these promises of life can begin?

Another source that I still use frequently is Jenee Woodward's Textweek.com.


There I found this great article from the Society of Biblical Literature, The cultural appropriation of Psalm 23. Here are some examples of songs and movies that have used  this psalm:

“Jesus Walks” by Kanye West, “Ganster’s Paradise” by Coolio, “The River” by Good Charlotte,  “You’re Nobody ‘til Somebody Kills You” by Puff Daddy and Notorious B.I.G, .“Sickman” by Alice in Chains, “Love Rescue Me” by U2, “Sheep” by Pink Floyd, "Ripple” by the Grateful Dead, Shadow of Deth” by Megadeth, “Jah Guide” by Peter Tosh.

Note the wide range of musical genres: from rap to reggae to metal to alternative to punk rock.

Films

Pale Rider,  Rooster Cogburn, Full Metal Jacket, Jarhead, We Were Soldiers, Titanic, The Wicker Man.