This morning I preached again, this time at Kirtland Community of Christ, where I serve as part of the pastorate. Like last week, this sermon perhaps found its origins back in April while listening to newly ordained Apostle Richard James speak to the mass meeting of the Aaronic Priesthood at World Conference. It was also a bit different as well.
This sermon was an odd one for me, for I was never able to get completely through it (well a version of it) before I preached. As I wrote, as I spoke in the days before and formed it… itwas in flux, parts didn’t work, I paused I stumbled… and yet I felt assured it was the sermon to give. It was also a bit weird as while I was working on this sermon a few images kept coming to mind, images that are within the photos I took while in the DR Congo. In particular images of stained glass windows depicting the life of Jesus the Christ… this lead to me creating a power point presentation to go along with the sermon. Something I usually despise… I don’t like things restricting me, and I find them a distraction often when I am in the congregation and others use them. But I couldn’t help but feel the need to use it. So I did… I choose though to use it to contain a few things other than the images, to emphasize certain parts of the sermon.
Early on as I started playing with the idea, in part as a response to a 2:30am sermon forming session that my mind decided to have (I had been asleep, woke up and for the next couple of hours found myself working on the sermon as it just flowed through my head), I formed the PowerPoint with a series of slides reflecting what I saw as a basic outline based off the page or so of typed notes I had… essentially blank slides with just basic titles as place holders. it stayed this way for a while. Last night after returning from spending time with friends, I found myself typing up the lectionary passage from Acts and from John so people could read as I read, from the same version translation (The Inclusive Bible), along with a few points from by exploration of some of the struggles of the world – human trafficking, poverty…. This morning I added the photographs to it, and then headed to the church to run through the sermon, set things up, and make final changes to the PowerPoint presentation.
Well, as I went through the sermon I found myself re-arranging the order of the scriptures, then moving the photo’s around.. deleting the never filled in slides, and adding a third passage of scripture, Thursday’s RCL reading from Acts – Acts 1:1-11, which had been added to the sermon at some point, but I had not entered into the presentation. I never ran through the presentation after I made my final alterations to it… Yet it flowed perfectly with the way the m message came out to be… I found myself expressing things more clearly, and in better ways than any of my failed run-through early that morning in the empty sanctuary. I found myself proclaiming the Good News, I found myself encountering the Holy and truly wanting to be, and hoping to be part of the incarnate body of Christ that was expressed, truly wanting to live and share the Gospel of Christ. I found myself sharing and expressing things in new ways in part directly from my encounters with others in community that morning. The message the same as the sermon prepared, but expressed, thanks to the blessing of the Holy, in much clearer, personal, and profound ways… at least to my ears.
I found also, that I love the Acts of the Apostles and preaching from it. I also found hope, I found a peace. I found a joy. I realized as well, I find myself most alive when I am utilizing my gift, embracing my calling and seeking to be individually the one the Holy calls me to be, and communally the the community we are called to be. Even though afterwards, I found myself fully drained. I found through last week and this as well, truly how much I really am called to be a proclaimer of the Good News. While preparing a sermon is taxing, often difficult, while giving one is draining, and more it is part of my calling, a part I need to engage more. I need to engage more in other ways as well. But there’s more as well.
I have two class/gathering/bible study things I want to engage the congregation in. One is related to hunger, a six week series… the other on Human trafficking. I hope this week to look into these a bit more. What I would like to see is a home gathering of Young Adults / near young Adults engaging in a study, and perhaps out of it engaging in mission. This morning I also thought perhaps its time for this member of the pastorate to step in and help engage in the adult Sunday school… something I do not want to do, but perhaps is needed.
I expressed in the end of the sermon the question is not “can we” but “will we?” As I end this post I hope the answer is “Yes”, I hope we will be the living incarnate body of Christ, to allow the indwelling spirit to guide us, strength us and comfort us as we seek to share God’s love and peace to the ends of the earth, living and being as Christ to bring for the peaceable Community we fondly call Zion. I wish that my friend, the audio guy, hadn’t recorded the musical reflection over my sermon, as I would like to hear and share it, but that is not the case. (perhaps for the best who knows, maybe the Holy Spirit was doing a lot of translating between my lips and my ears…).
Peace be with you…
— Lyle II