(Note: This blog entry is based on the text for Preacher, originally shared on December 10, 2020. It was the seventy-first video for our YouTube Channel, Streams of Living Water (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw), co-produced with my wife, Rev. Sally Welch.)
Do you enjoy speaking in front of groups of
people? If you’re like most people, that answer would be a big “No!”. Today,
we’re going to look at why speaking to encourage and teach a group of
Christians is different than any other kind of speaking, and how it can help
you in your Christian witness.
No question the pandemic is getting scarier
every day as we now wait for the widespread application of a vaccine. We are
now seeing a spike of COVID-19 cases brought on by irresponsible behavior
during the Thanksgiving Holiday. Unless attitudes change, we will see another
huge spike after the Hanukkah and Christmas holidays.
I wonder if people who refuse to do what it
takes to lower the rate of infection calculate the number of deaths they would
find acceptable as the result of their refusal to stay a home, close down, wear
masks, wash or sanitize their hands, avoid crowds and practice social
distancing if being in a crowd is necessary for some reason?
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the Director of the LA
County Department of Public Health wept on television yesterday as she gave one
of her regular updates on the coronavirus and reported the latest additions to
the over 8,000 people who have died of the coronavirus in LA County this year.
The pandemic will get worse before it gets
better, we are told. Maybe much, much worse unless we do the simple things
necessary to save lives. The pandemic, with those who don’t seem to care, is
getting scarier for all of us.
People are afraid of lots of things, like
spiders, and heights, and scary clowns, but the fear of death is not at the top
of most people’s lists. There is one thing that generally beats death as a
source of fear: public speaking.
That’s right, I read some years ago that
most people would literally rather die than stand up and speak in front of a
group of people.
I preached one to three sermons at least one
day per week, and often more, for more than 40 years. I can’t think of a time
when I wasn’t nervous before each of them.
That’s different than public speaking. I
consider myself a pretty good preacher (I don’t think I’m being vain here; I
just think that’s true), but I’m not a public speaker, which makes me really
nervous. The difference, I think is the work of the Holy Spirit speaking
through me.
I think that’s at least a part of what Peter
means when he writes, in his first letter:
*1 Peter 4:10-11
Peter puts an “Amen.” At the end of that
passage, and he’s not close to the end of the letter because, I think, because it’s
such an important point. We do what we do with the gifts of God to God’s glory
through Jesus Christ.
I have preached many times when, afterward,
someone says, “You know when you said that thing about that thing? That really
spoke to me. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.” That might have been kind
of flattering, except that I had no memory of saying that, or anything even
close. I think that that is the Holy Spirit at work.
[***What do you think? How have the
sermons you have heard pointed you to God?
Share your thoughts in the
comment section below and we’ll respond to every one.]
Our words are spoken so that God may be
glorified.
I read something last time about Soren’s
Kierkegaard’s statement that many people go to church like they go to a play,
and afterward they have a meal. I think it was a Baptist who says that the main
course at such meals is often “roast preacher”.
I don’t know if that’s true anymore. I don’t
know that many people remember anything about a sermon by the Benediction. At
least they don’t act like it.
What do people talk about after worship
where you worship, or what do they talk about now after Zoom worship? I would
guess it’s not about the sermon, or anything about the service, except to
complement an individual worship leader.
Worship is done in the presence of God and
is directed toward God, including the preaching. That, as Peter says, is done
“as one speaking the very words of God.”
When people come out of a worship service, I
think that they should be a little shaken and want to talk about it.
But, sermons come and go like the wind for
most people. They are said and forgotten before dessert. But like the wind, a
metaphor for the Holy Spirit, it’s hard to know what effect they have. We don’t
see the wind, but we see its effects on things.
Jesus said, in his lead-up to John 3:16,
*John 3:8
I heard a story from one of my professors, I
think, when I was in seminary that has been encouraging to me when I think about
preaching.
A Letter to the Editor was sent to the
London Times, back when people did such things (now it would be an email or a
text to the editor, I suppose) and it was published.
The letter went something like, “Dear
Editor. I have been a member of the Anglican Church, The Church of England, for
almost 35 years. In that time, I have heard sermons almost weekly. I have to
say that I don’t remember any of them. I don’t even remember what I heard last
Sunday. And, I know I’m not alone. As I understand it, the clergy spend a great
deal of time preparing these sermons that no one remembers. Therefore, I wonder
if it wouldn’t be a good idea if they dispensed with sermons altogether and
spent their time in more productive activities.”
There was an avalanche of letters in response,
but the last one went something like, “Dear Editor. I have been married to the
same woman for almost 40 years. During that time, she has prepared thousands of
meals, but I have to say that I don’t remember any of them. I’m not even sure
what I ate for breakfast this morning. But, the fact that I am well nourished
and in good health tells me that I have been fed, and am grateful for it.”
Sermons are like that, but not only sermons.
Our efforts to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ so that they are
open to receive the gift of faith sometimes seem to be hopeless. But, you never
know the effect that it is having. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.
When most people in our culture think of a
“preacher” it’s not in complementary terms.
When was the last time you saw a positive portrayal
of a clergyperson on TV or in the movies? Have you every heard use of the verb
“to preach” used in a positive way? We don’t like to use the term even in
church, because it suggests an authoritarian, irrelevant, ignorant, blustering,
bumpkin. Who wants that?
To preach means to proclaim. And to get out
of the way, to let God speak through you. We can all do that.
Whatever we say, though, the outcome we seek
is not that we be glorified, but that God is glorified through us.
The goal is not for people to hear what you
have to say, but to hear what God is saying through you. The very words of God.
Apart from an admittedly flattering little boost
to the ego, I always feel a little disappointed when people say, “That was a
great sermon”. I would rather hear, “Don’t we have a great God”.
One day, when Jesus was at the Temple in Jerusalem
to worship at a festival, this happened:
*John 12:20-21
I’ve read that some pulpits have these words
carved into their tops, “Sir (note: or madam), we wish to see Jesus.”
That would be an excellent purpose for all
who speak, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the streams of living water in
front of people, the very words of God.
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