“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalms 23:4) Rods and staffs seem pretty interchangeable, but there are some important differences. A rod carries with it the authority of a just rebuke, whereas the staff promises merciful support in times of desperate need. The Good Shepherd knows precisely when to use the Rod and when to use the Staff. When we have found ourselves in an unmanageable mess of our own making, the stern Rod of Justice urges us to face the reality of our situation, to acknowledge our responsibility both for putting ourselves into this situation and also getting ourselves back out of it, and to diligently do everything in our power to realize a mighty change in ourselves and in our situation. When we have come to the very edge of our strength, when we have endured more than we thought possible, when we can no longer stand on our own, the Good Shepherd offers us the Staff of Mercy to lean on for support. Both the Rod and the Staff are intended to comfort us. The Rod is the cold hard truth that our life is not as good as it could be, and we have the power and the obligation to do something about it. This can and ought to be comforting. We are not condemned always to wallow in misery. If we paid attention to all of the whacks of the Rod telling us we are doing something stupid and short sighted, then we would start to learn and grow and dig ourselves out of the hole. What an encouraging notion! And the Staff is always there to remind us that we don't have to do this all on our own, that we can't do it all on our own. The path to perfection is a team effort, and all of us will face times where we need to lean on each other and especially to lean on the Lord. Knowing we don't have to face all of our challenges by ourselves is also an encouraging thought. I hope we will all take comfort in both the Rod and the Staff.
