Saturday Afternoon Special

I once won a preaching award, not so much because of my own skill, but because a friend of mine nominated me for it.

I take preaching very seriously. I think it is critical, as a former mentor said, the best hearing the church gets is on Sunday morning. Before I was a pastor, I was one of those people who would tell you that if the sermon wasn't any good, then church wasn't any good. I know, it's petty, it's an unfortunate characteristic of the 21st Century Consumer Culture, but it is, what it is. The sermon matters.

And because I believe that the sermon matters, a large part of my week is spent preparing for my sermon. Now, of course I do pastoral care, and I teach Bible study, and I pray and I visit and I do all those things, but I do believe that a large part of my job is in my sermon preparation and execution.

And then there is Holy Week. As Debbie wrote, it only became Holy Week after the Resurrection, and most of the time it is not particularly fun for pastors, particularly those in small churches without much help. There is Holy Thursday, and there is Good Friday, and then there is getting ready for Sunday, two services for us and most people I think. And to top off my first Holy Week in Greystone, we lost a saint on Sunday, and so Monday night I was preaching a funeral and Tuesday morning assisting at a graveside.

Because of my poor planning, and the other things that came up, I have yet to write my Easter sermon. It's Saturday morning and I'm just beginning. I have my ideas. So, Mary Magdalene and I are doing the same thing - working and watching, waiting and hoping. She will receive the risen Lord. I'm hoping my congregation will receive a sermon worthy of such an event.

Come Holy Spirit.