The Purpose of Preaching

Back in the day when I started preaching, old sermons were written long hand on yellow legal pads.  The process produced a lot of yellow paper in the trash can as well as sermon filled yellow pages for the file cabinet.  As my fingers wore out, I stepped into the hi-tech world and started using a manual Royal typewriter which got rid of the yellow paper.  At some point a word processor came into the office which made such a quiet process that I had to program my mind to write without the noise of pounding keys.  I still went on to use a small forest of pine trees before my mind could grasp the paperless process where "hard copies" were no longer necessary.    

I have never embraced change easily.  I can remember the number of years I spent at each step of the sermon writing journey.  While the means of writing has changed, the process of writing sermons has changed very little.  The rules or guidelines with which I started are the ones still embraced.  Every sermon needs a heavy dose of praying before the first word becomes visible.  The starting point of the sermon is not about a social issue, or a personal opinion, but a text from Scripture.  My preaching professor from seminary said what I still remember, "No one comes to hear your personal opinion, they come to hear the Word of God." 

Another thing always remembered is that the pulpit is not for teaching.  There is a difference in preaching and teaching.  Teaching is informational and preaching is persuasive.  Preaching is to bring people into an encounter with Jesus that will unleash transforming power in their hearts.  Another word which might be used instead of persuasive is invitational.  It is imperative that the invitational dimension of preaching not be forgotten or neglected by the preacher.

God or Mammon

Jesus never said money was evil, but He did warn those who were investing in the Mount of Accumulation  to be careful.  It is in that section of Scripture known as the Sermon on the Mount that we hear Him saying, "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth."  (Matthew 6:24).  According to Jesus, there is nothing wrong with having wealth.  The important thing is to be sure the wealth does not have us.  Money can be a problem for the poor man who only has a coin or two in the pocket just as a great portfolio of investments can be a problem for the wealthy.  

When we hold our money in our hand, what is really important is not the amount we see, but the attitude we have toward it in our heart.  Mark 12:41-44 tells the story of Jesus watching the giving of a widow who only had two small coins and the rich who gave large sums.  Jesus points to her as the one who carried the right attitude in her heart.  She could give everything because she knew God would take care of tomorrow.  The rich gave a lot but it was not enough to put themselves at risk for tomorrow.  If God did not come through, they had enough put back to take care of tomorrow.

Does the way we accumulate and give reflect anything about our faith in God?  Does our tight hold on the money in our hands speak of the hold it has on us?   Money did not have such a hold on the poor widow that she could not be generous in giving to God.  She knew God could be counted on to take care of her tomorrow.  On the other hand, the rich gave a lot, but it was out of their abundance.   What they gave they never missed.  They kept back enough to weather any of tomorrow's storms.  In the final analysis, giving answers the question, "Who do I trust?"   

Birthday Thoughts

Today is my birthday.  We all have them.  As our birthday comes, it enables us to celebrate by counting the years.  I have been blessed more than many of those I have known as friends whose years did not span nearly as many as mine.  Actually, while our birthday marks how many years we have lived, we always need to add nine months.  Our life does not start at birth when we take our first gulp of earth's air, but when the miracle of conception takes place in the womb of the woman we know as mother.   

When life begins has become such a political issue in our day.  We are told by some that not every child conceived has the right to life.  The Scripture takes us in a different direction.  Regardless of the circumstances of conception, the Word of God speaks of a life conceived as being one of value.  The first chapter of Genesis speaks of each created being bearing the imprint of the Holy.  The created human being along with all the rest of creation is seen by God as not just being good, but "very good." (Genesis 1:31)  Creation is not accidental nor without purpose, but is and continues to be a part of the unfolding plan of God.   

The purposeful plan of God first seen in conception is pointed out in a word that came to Jeremiah as we hear the Lord saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.."  (Jeremiah 1:5).  Another important word about the work of God before birth comes in the 139th Psalm.  "For it was You (God) who formed my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb...My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret...Your eyes beheld my unformed substance..." (Psalm 139:13-16).  All of life is a holy and precious gift and I am, as you are, grateful for every day which has been and is being given..

On the Eve

The journey from conception to the day which will mark 78 years is almost here.  Another sunrise will bring it into view.  It feels like standing on a threshold which speaks of ending and beginning.  What is past will end and what is unfolding will begin.  Of course, another way of looking at the moment is to see that what began is continuing.  Life is not so much about arriving as it is about moving toward what is unfolding.  On a day that is the eve of tomorrow, it is obvious that there is much to remember and much for which to hope.

A hymn which comes to mind has the words, "There's a song in every silence, seeking word and melody; there's a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.  From the past will come the future, what it holds a mystery, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see." ("Hymn of Promise").  The passing of so many years has driven home the truth that control is an illusion.  No matter how hard we might squint and strain to see into the future, we can at best see no further than the end of our nose.  

Life is truly about endings and beginnings and as the poet, Robert Browning, wrote long ago, "the best is yet to be."  It has always been that there is light after darkness, hope after despair, and joy after mourning.  The lesson of the years is that no darkness is overcoming because as Job, the man of trouble, said, "In His (God's) hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being." (Job 12:10).  With such truth embedded in our heart we can move forward into any darkness which might unfold because we know God as the One who has brought us through all the things of ages that are past.

A Firm Foundation

When I was a young and aspiring preacher, I was drawn to the letters Paul wrote to Timothy because of the mentoring words being spoken by a seasoned veteran servant of Christ.  The words written to Timothy were words that helped me stay focused on what I was called to do and who I was called to be.  I sat with them on many different occasions.  Today I am obviously not a young and aspiring preacher.  I have become the old seasoned servant who has a word for the young and aspiring even though they may not have the ears or the desire to listen.   

Though my role has shifted over these years, I still find myself drawn to these letters Paul wrote so long ago.  I am drawn to them not because I have the needs of a young preacher, but because of the way the theological core of church is being threatened.  I cannot help but see a world where people "...accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires." (II Timothy 4:3)  We have become the generation with "itching ears" who are constantly being tempted to "turn away from listening to the truth." (II Timothy 4:3-4)  

As I confess my troubled heart and spirit that grieves for a church that seems to find its direction more in cultural mores than the sacred Word, I also hear in Paul's letter to Timothy a word of comfort and hope.  In verse 19 of the second chapter of the second letter to Timothy, the Apostle is inspired by the Holy Spirit to write a bold word, "But God's firm foundation stands..."  The church is forever changing.  It has enjoyed seasons of faithfulness and endured seasons of heresy, but God's firm foundation still stands.  It will always stand.  Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."  Such is also true of the true church that bears the stain from the blood of the cross and has been cast into the future by the blowing wind of the Spirit.  

Almost There

My journey into my 78th birthday month is almost completed.  Not only is June about to disappear, but the day remembered as the day of my birth is about to dawn.  These days have been times for remembering and reflecting on some of the things learned in more recent days which I am carrying with me as a part of my essential baggage.  Recent is, of course, used rather loosely as it covers the larger span of the years since I left the pulpit for the farm.  

Shortly after I retired a friend sent a book to me which seemed to be one of those books women use in their Bible studies.  I read it anyway.  Written by Ann Voskamp it is entitled, "1000 Gifts."  It is a book about living with a spirit of gratitude.  It is a book which led me into a deeper understanding of the word Paul wrote, "...give thanks in all circumstances..." (I Thessalonians 5:18) and another from Philippians which I find to be very similar, "I have learned to be content with whatever I have."  Philippians 4:11).  One of the challenges the author offered was to keep a "Gratitude Journal" with a goal of noting 1000 gifts over the next year.  

I pray that I come to year 78 with a heart that is possessed more by a grateful spirit.  One of the lessons which has surely been learned in these sixteen years it that even in the darkest of times there are things (gifts would be the Voskamp word) from God for which we can be grateful.  A part of that blessing is to realize how gratitude leads to generosity.  I am grateful that the more grateful person I am becoming is also giving life to a more generous spirit.

Hesed

An afternoon venture into the Word brought me to Psalm 136.  It is a Psalm which has a strong liturgical element within it.  Each of its 26 verses extols some way that God has expressed His love to His people and each of those brief expressions is followed by "for His steadfast love endures forever."  It is the kind of Psalm which enables us to hear the leader of worship saying, "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good" and the people joining voices to say in response, "for His steadfast love endures forever."  It such a powerful Psalm of praise and thanksgiving.   

As the Psalmist repeats the refrain, "for His steadfast love endure forever" he is bringing forth the Hebrew word, "hesed."  "Hesed" is to the Old Testament as "agape" is to the New Testament except that the Old Testament word carries with it an even broader meaning than its New Testament counterpart.  "Hesed" is a word to which I was first introduced in seminary and then much later found surfacing in a Disciple Bible Study I led for many years.  When reading this Psalm it is better to read slowly aloud than it is to read it silently so that we are enabled to hear the richness of the language.  

"Hesed" is a word that speaks of the love of God to all people.  It speaks of God's commitment to His promises.  It is also a word which is often translated "lovingkindness." It speaks of an action of God that goes beyond expectation.  "Hesed" is a word of action.  It is not a word that points to a compassionate heart, but to a God who does not stand still, but is always moving toward those in need.  Psalm 136 is a Psalm worthy of more than just a casual reading.  It is a holy word which tells us an important truth about the nature of God.  "His (God's) steadfast love endures forever."