Today I remembered how immensely satisfying it is to present God's Word to God's people. My friend Cameron had asked me to preach just to give him a little breathing room as he is going to seminary full time while pastoring Trinity church. Even after all these years, I remember all too well struggling to do pastoral and seminary work at the same time. It's like having two and a half full time jobs. Anything I can do to ease the burden for someone like Cameron or my own pastor Joe, I am willing to do. I would hate to see either of them burn out before their time as they try to juggle pastoral leadership, seminary demands, and family responsibilities.
So today was the day. I have been pondering the subject of today's sermon for some time, since having a month or so ago having seen a familiar text in a whole new light. The Scripture is Paul's declaration in Philippians 3 that he had given up everything for the sake of knowing Christ, even to the point of joining Christ in his sufferings. It got me to thinking of what it means to know Christ, and even more, the place of suffering in that process of knowing. It made me dig not only into the Scriptures, but even more into my own heart, which is never comfortable, but always worthwhile.
That process is what makes preaching such a worthwhile endeavor. Someone once said that preachers do what they do to save their own souls. I believe it. I am far too undisciplined to undertake the study and work that preaching requires without actually doing the preaching. It is in that study that God speaks and reveals himself to this questioning and often skeptical heart and mind. I have at times started out wondering who this God I proclaim really is and how in the world I can claim to know him, but by the end of my preparation, I am forced to bow in humble wonder and faith before the mystery of the Almighty God who revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord not only of me, but of the world.
Today's sermon took me in directions I would rather not go, down paths I would rather not travel, to a destination I do not want to miss. I am grateful for the honor and trust that God gave me over forty years ago, and for the privilege even in retirement to dust off the old cranium and dive into the life-giving Word. It certainly enlivened me today.
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