I preached today. Which usually means that there should be a manuscript on here of my sermon. But God – in his perfect and infallible sense of humor – decided to cause my computer to fore-go saving the manuscript I’ve been working on for the past two weeks, forcing me to preach a sermon I had only a vague conception of. People seemed to appreciate it and the Holy Spirit has a funny way of giving you what you need when you need it. But it was intended to be one of two sermons submitted for candidacy. So I either have to rewrite the manuscript according to the recording, or scrap the whole things and record another one in its stead.
The text was John 17:20-23. This was a section from Jesus’ final prayer at the Last Supper. The text was chosen for me by our pastors in conjunction with a series we’re doing right now on diversity and racism. The major idea of Jn 17 is unity in the church. The thing that seemed to stand out to most people was the meaning of – and frequently misunderstood – the word “one.” In English, we have just one word for “one:” o-n-e. The meaning of this word changes depending on the context, subject, and point we’re trying to make. But sometimes the meaning is skewed when there are multiple possibilities.
But the Greek, on the other hand, is a little more specific; depending on the message the author wants to convey, they have at their disposal several options, each with a slightly different connotation. While there are plenty of examples throughout history of churches and pastors misunderstanding what the vernacular says (the Roman Catholic church being one example), Jesus is quite definate about what he means. When Jesus prays that God would make the church “one,” he’s not talking about a single, all-encompassing organization. Instead, Jesus uses the Greek word “hen” – a word that has more to do with nature, essence, and relationship. By comparison, it’s the Greek equivalent to what is meant is meant when Genesis talks about a man and a woman getting married and becoming one. It’s also the same word used to talk about God as one.
All in all, it was a fascinating study that even afforded me the opportuntiy to work the Apostle’s Creed into a worship service at a church plant.
But the title of this post calls me to go in a slightly different direction…
Since beginning my internship at MCC, I’ve become very aware of the affect the needs of the community and the relationship I (as a pastor) have with church members has on preaching. Pastors far more experienced than me have frequently told me that the connection between sermon content and community needs is sometimes unbearably intertwined. And while I have always tried to match the sermon to the congregation, it wasn’t until this sermon – and particularly this morning – that I felt that tension.
In the past, I’ve tended to go into a congregation and just rail on them. The last time I really did that, I saw the reaction such preaching can foster. This time, however, I worked through several drafts until I felt that the wording was just right for those who attend MCC (only to see it disappear with one click of the mouse).
But with that aside, I was met this morning with my first, real pastor care moment that – unless the Spirit was working in a way I was simply unaware of – I completely flubbed up. There’s a family in our church that has been met with one disaster after another: unemployment, foreclosure, car wreck…you name it and it keeps on coming. And as I was talking to them, the wife began to cry. I could tell that stress she was feeling was becoming unbearable. And I felt like all I could do was listen and say “I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what to do or say.
Twenty minutes later I was standing in front of the church and to offer a greeting. I couldn’t say “Good morning” because I knew that for them, it was anything but good. But I had to say something. So I simply said, “Welcome to Monroe Community Church. Our prayer is that MCC would be a place where you can come with all your hurts and all your joys and worship God in spite of them in the fellowship of other followers of Jesus.” I then offered up a prayer and we continued our singing.
A few minutes later I had to preach a sermon on unity on the church with the knowledge of what was happening with this family. The entire time I felt as though everything that came out of my mouth was falling on deaf ears. I tried to emphasize love, but my belief is that I have to address the material the way the text does.
The other reality is that, as a minister, I will be a keeper of some of people’s darkest, most sensitive secrets. And I can’t let that affect me to the point that I preach to a particular family every week.
Overall, this was pretty minor – I know that. This is the sort of thing that most pastors these days deal with and hear about on a daily basis. But this is the first time I’ve been confronted with such a blatant dichonomy.
I hope it gets easier (but I know it probably won’t)…
. Again, not the intention behind my writing, but if people are impacted by it, than so be it. I’m open to letting God work however he wants.
People Talk