A tribute Bill Cuneo in the Spirit of Psalm 23

Of the 150 psalms is the Bible, the 23rd psalm is the best known and most loved by far. Most adore it for the comfort it imparts.  On a deeper level it paints a picture of the intent of the covenant that has lain between us and God for some 5000 years, from the time in our common history when we moved from the worship of many gods, from idols and mythological supernatural beings that controlled the rain and the harvest, fertility and death, to a centralized belief in one God; the great I AM.  Psalm 23 is simple in its arrangement and yet complex in its implications.  It’s first words seem a benign sentiment of faithfulness but they are some of the most powerful words in the bible.  It is an oath of allegiance:  The Lord is my shepherd.   In speaking these words one pledges to trust solely in God for all things necessary to life. This is immediately followed by an expectation: I shall not be in want. This is not a hopeful expectation but the unwavering certainty of its fulfillment.  One of the great judges of Israel, Joshua, put it this way:  “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” 

Psalm 23 tells a story of a simple life of a faithful soul:

a soul willing to be guided through the winding path of a long and eventful life;

a soul trusting in God to be revived when it is weary,

a soul that neither fears evil nor the deeds that spring from it;

a soul that understands the whole of life in terms of the covenential bond between God and those whom God has created;

a soul that understands death not as a lone journey but as a passage from one world to the next undertaken in the companionship of Christ;

a soul trained to see abundance as a constant; the glass as perpetually half full and never half empty;

a soul who leans heavily into the letting go of things worldly in order to satisfy one's inner life with things other-worldly. 

To live this kind of life is not a complicated scheme. It requires little; there are no upfront costs, no terms of compliance. There are no prerequisite classes; no tests to qualify.  And we all begin at the same place with these simple words:  The Lord is my shepherd.

Bill understood this completely.  The Lord was his shepherd.  And throughout his life, the Lord led him to the green pastures and still waters of a simple and correct faith.  In circumstance similar to that of Joshua, the prophet Micah confronts the people of God and asks: And what does the Lord require but that you do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.  These are the requirements of being led by a shepherd instead of presuming to lead.  In Bill’s devotion and commitment to his family, his country, his employer, his community and his church, he consistently, quietly lent support of both secular and religious efforts to address injustice and human suffering.  He was an icon of uncommon kindness. And through his graciousness and profound gratitude for those who were privileged to know him, he provided a model of what it means to walk humbly with one's God.  

But for most of us, these things do not come easily.  When our efforts at justice fall short of the mark, we hope that God’s justice will somehow serve to bridge the gulf between right and wrong.  We have to practice how to be kind, reminding ourselves that it is a virtue – because its no longer a cultural expectation.   We pick up popular books by the Dali Lama instructing us on the ways and means of being kind.  And we find that a walk with God is no walk in the park – we are too much in the way of ourselves. Too often we understand humility as a weakness and not at all the first requirement of a strong and vibrant faith that it is. Bill was raised in a time in which the development of faith was as much a part of life as Doe Day after Thanksgiving.  He grew up in time in which the church was as much as institution of daily life as public school.  But for good or ill, or perhaps a bit of both, that is not the world we live in any longer.  And there are now thousands upon thousands of people who long to understand how to live a simpler life, who long to have faith in something that is bigger and more powerful than they are.  The church, overall, has really not been terribly helpful in my estimation, but there have been numerous attempts by secular voices to speak to these things.  One of the better attempts is a song from a Southern Rock band my youth, that is now pointing a whole new generation at least in the general direction of what it means to live the kind of life Bill lived, a life to which we would all be wise to aspire, a life marked by a simple pledge we give with all of our heart: The Lord is my shepherd. 

So here are words of that song written in part by Ronnie Van Zant:

Mama told me when I was young
Come sit beside me, my only son and listen closely to what I say.
And if you do this it'll help you some sunny day.
Oh, take your time... Don't live too fast, troubles will come and they will pass.
You'll find a woman, you'll find love,
And don't forget son, there is someone up above.

Forget your lust, for the rich man's gold, all that you need, is in your soul,

And you can do this, if you try.

All that I want for you my son, is to be satisfied.

Boy, don't you worry... you'll find yourself.

Follow your heart, Lord, and nothing else.

And be a simple, kind of man.
Oh be something, you love and understand.
Baby be a simple, kind of man.
Oh, won't you do this for me son, if you can?