Why I preach...a confession

In May, my mentor, Jerry, is retiring.  I met him shortly before I began my seminary journey in 2005 and have been grateful for everything he has taught me in the past 7.5 years that I have known him (amazing how time flies!).  But there is one thing that he said to me once that will stick with me more than anything else.  And it has to do with preaching.

If I recall correctly, in the fall of 2009 I was lamenting a preaching issue I was having and was looking for the best way to address it.  When I brought the issue to him, he told me that as preachers, we can only do half the work.  The Holy Spirit takes care of the rest.  Assuming that we do more than half the work is egotistical and doesn't rely on God's grace.

He is right.  And each time I sit down to write a sermon, I do my best to remind myself of this. 

As a preacher, I need God's grace and the Holy Spirit's presence in order to do what I do.  Because not every sermon is going to be as polished as I would like it to be. Not every week is going to allow for the optimal amount of preparation that I was taught is necessary.  Sometimes, I'm just as confused by the scripture texts as everyone else...sometimes more so after I've taken notes on the text, worked with the Greek (this doesn't always happen), and read the commentaries.  Sometimes, I get so frustrated waiting on the Spirit to nudge me in the direction that I'm supposed to go that I have to walk away for at least 24 hours before I can approach the text again.

So why preach?  I don't preach for me.  I don't preach because it puts me in the spotlight.  I don't preach to make people happy...sometimes we need to be made to feel uncomfortable if we're really going to get what God is saying.  Sometimes the Gospel is downright offensive. If the Gospel was all warm and fuzzy, and never offensive, the religious leaders wouldn't have wanted Jesus dead.  Jesus didn't come to make us feel better, Jesus came to wake us up to the reality of God in the world, especially in the places that we tend to ignore.   That being said, I do not preach to offend.  Instead, I preach the reality of God in the world...and sometimes the reality of God is messy simply because it is real. 

But this doesn't answer the question of why I DO preach.  I preach because I know and have experienced God's Good News in the world and I want to share that with others.  I preach because God's grace has met me where I am, flawed and imperfect and growing.  I preach because, no matter the circumstances, the Holy Spirit comes through each and every time.  I preach because the Holy Spirit won't let me get away with not preaching.  I preach because I know that the Holy Spirit is at work in the Word of God and in the Sacraments. 

In the end, God's work is going to get done despite and in spite of anything I do or say.  Each time I step into the pulpit, I pray for God's abundant grace.  And each time I step down from the pulpit, I am grateful to know that God has taken over and done amazing things...even though my part wasn't perfect.