So in an effort to keep the conversation going, I'm going to post new material each week. If I'm not preaching, perhaps it will be reflections on the readings for the upcoming Sunday, or maybe some thoughts from the homily at the 12:00 noon Healing Eucharist on Wednesdays. My vision is for this to be a place to dialogue, ask questions, and debate. Please feel free to post comments and share with others.
I was at clergy conference a few weeks ago, and one of the discussions that we were asked to have at our tables was about "preparing to preach." I hope that you all can tell from my sermons, but I immensely enjoy preaching. I enjoy opening myself to God's Spirit; I enjoy meditating on God's word for several days; I enjoy reading lots of resources and articles on the passages; I enjoy the outlining phase of the sermon writing when all the possible avenues the sermon might take begin to form into one road; I enjoy the writing process where I can play with the wonderful nuance of words and grammar; I enjoy creating the Wordle to see what a computer program says my main parts are; I enjoy practicing the sermon, finding my voice in it; I enjoy preaching it; and most of all- I enjoy the dialogue that comes from the sermon.
Whether it's on this blog, you thinking about the sermon, you discussing it with others, you sharing it with a friend, or you talking to me about it- the conversation is what matters most to me in sermon writing. Throughout the process, I try to have a conversation with myself and with God, I hope that the delivered sermon is a glimpse into that conversation and a place for you to have a conversation with me, with others and with God.
So at clergy conference I heard a lot about sermon writing. And I was disappointed to hear all of the complaining by my fellow clergy. Many said that they didn't enjoy the process, many said that they did it on Saturday and a few even admitted to acting like college students who crammed to finish their sermon by 3 am the Sunday they were supposed to preach. I remember what a seminary professor once said- "if you are in the habit of writing your sermons on the way to church on Sunday mornings, it would be better if a truck hit you and you died. You'd be okay, because you'd be with the Lord Jesus, and it would be better for your congregation so that they aren't subjected to your lack of preparation and abuse of the pulpit." And though those words are harsh, I think it he was right. Preaching and exploring the word of God is a solemn, joyful and important task. May we all take the time to be in conversation with Scripture, and enjoy a deeper sense of knowing God and God's love for all of Creation through our efforts.
