In the presence of my enemies

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

I have a love/hate relationship with Psalm 23.
Just once, I want to be at a funeral where we don't read the 23rd Psalm. I've asked my wife to avoid it at my funeral, in case it doesn't happen before then. I suspect that the reason people have it at funerals is because (a) they know everyone has it at funerals, (b) it talks about the "valley of the shadow of death", and (c) it ends with "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
But (c) is almost certainly a bad translation (compare the New Revised Standard Version above). And I'm not fond of "I shall not want," for there are many who have the Lord as their shepherd and are in need. The belief that God's people always have what they need - while true at one level, assuming God can heal anything in the next life - has led some otherwise intelligent and educated Christians to assume that starving to death is not really an issue for good Christians. I especially remember a farmer in her 60s who said "I've lost my faith" one year during a drought, because she didn't see how God could do this to her. I was stunned that anyone - let alone a farmer! - could get into their 60s and think that life would always go well for them.

So I'm not overly fond of some common uses of this Psalm.

On the other hand...
The Lord is my shepherd, and I do believe God is always and everywhere caring for me. And - though I often do fear evil - I believe there is no real need for me to do so, that God will someday prevail.
And God prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies. Week after week, I approach the table, in the presence of all of God's people. The ones who love me, and the ones who despise me. The ones who give me gifts, and the ones who kick me when I'm down. The ones who understand depression as I do, and those who think it's God's way of taking me down a few notches. And I and my enemies eat together, for it is one table, whether we recognize it or not. We pledge to be at peace with one another, whether we mean it or not. And God forgives us.

The peace of Christ be with you!