Wednesdays
The ideal for Wednesdays is that I wake up buoyed by the previous two days' study. I know stuff, I feel stuff, I still got 4 days until Deliverance. I begin to move deliberately from the netherworld of biblical study into the world in which I live. I actually put down the Bible and pick up the newspaper.
But today gave me insight into the insight I was actually seeking. I am trying to put this passage into useful use. I want to know if these written words have anything to say to these people, who will occupy the pews in 4 mere days. The best thing about awakening to the context of the world is that I live in the context. Not a rocket scientist's declaration, but an a-ha moment. What is my context after all? I learn that by living.
So today I sat down and began to physically list out my current context. Locally, I live in what is being called an economic oasis. Things in many places are bad...things in Morgantown are not, and everyone is talking about it. I listed the context of Spring's arrival, the incoming administration at WVU, the revival of Habitat for Humanity in Morgantown and Lent. Then I did the best thing. I left the office.
I made a visit today to a retired couple. He is a WWII veteran and ham radio operator. She is a full-time volunteer at one of the local charities. They are significantly interested in other people and place service at the top of all virtues. After the visit I prepared for our Lenten prayer service, in which a family of 4 attended...a retired couple and their retired couple children. They were en route to a funeral...this is context. I ended my day in the hospital visiting a parishioner, frightened by his pending catheterization. Friday, I will visit a woman on her 91st birthday. None of this is newspaper-worthy. But it is all the real lives within the congregation. Without adding to my already-copious notes, I found out about context, by living where I live.
The virtue at play on Wednesdays is compassion. Compassion is acknowledgement of another's real station in life. Compassion recognizes frailty in the midst of bravado, courage in the midst of sin and grace in the midst of loss. By practicing compassion one takes the spotlight off o one's self and places it on others. This is not voyeurism but respect--the desire to know another because one loves that other. As a pastor context is gained by looking around with eyes peeled for the glory of God.
Wednesdays are also given to the task of "direction". I am not quite sure what this means yet. But I think it has to do with beginning to pinpoint where Sunday's sermon will lead the listener.
To gain direction, one must understand the crux of the issue. I utilize the haiku to help with this. The haiku provides a parameter (17 syllables) within which I must articulate the heart of the matter within the text. I kinda cheat by writing two. The stark succinctness of the haiku forces me to get to the point. These are usually the first words written for the sermon.
By living where I live and by employing the economy of words characteristic of the haiku, I go to sleep tonight having imagined and prayed for the real people to whom I will preach. And I will have put pen to paper, eking out the first 17 syllables of Sunday's sermon. This is the ideal--on Wednesdays.
Image: "context" by Arriving at the horizon
Tuesdays
>> Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The ideal is that by the time I get to Tuesday, I will have read over the text for the week, info-checked it and mined my own life for associations. As happened today, the ideal Tuesday consists of opening up the commentary to discover someone else's discoveries. The curiosity from Monday spills over into Tuesday, buoyed by the nutrition of Monday's work.
And yet a new virtue is at play on Tuesday--that of humility. I go to bed Monday feeling as if I know a lot about the passage. I wake up Tuesday and say "no you don't!" I have roamed this Earth for 33 measly years. The text is 2000 years old, and I have the audacity to think I know a lot about it...sheesh. And so I consult the tradition--I consult the formalized tradition of written commentaries. Yes, there is a lot online, but I like to touch the paper and lift the gargantuan volumes of pulp and ink. So far, I have one complete series-The New Interpreter's Bible, a seminary graduation gift. I have picked up pieces of the Interpretation series, as needed. And just yesterday, I picked up my first volume of the Feasting on the Word series.
But there is another aspect of the tradition-the worshiping community. Concerning the passage to be preached this coming week (Mark 8:27-9:1--Jesus rebukes Peter; Take up thy cross and follow me; etc.) I have found that the worshiping community has been singing on this text for over 200 years. The UM Hymnal lists two hymns inspired by this text--Where He Leads Me I Will Follow (#338) and Take Up Thy Cross (#415). The intricacies of the text may get lost on the congregant, but many will sing and learn the text via the hymn. The meter, tonal qualities and the hymn text all provide commentary upon the scripture. And if it's a crowd-pleaser, then you best understand it to be considered as good as God's word.
As I go to sleep tonight, I will slumber buoyed again by the nutrition of study. I learned that Jesus' plea to "take up thy cross" sits at the very midpoint of Mark's gospel at a major turning point in the gospel plot. I also was pointed to the connection between Jesus' calling Peter Satan and Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Through the study of commentaries on the passage, my insight into the passage has increased dramatically. I am also looking forward to the next stage, which is to consider my context. I feel confident that by the time Sunday rolls around, the message will be sharp, courageous and faithful to both the congregation and the text, and that is the feeling I am hoping for--on Tuesdays.
Image: "books in a stack (a stack of books)" by austinevan
Mondays
The ideal is that I read next Sunday's text thoroughly on the preceding Mondays. The theory is that the sooner I can get into the text, the longer I can live in it and understand it. If I enter the text deliberately on Monday, then by Sunday, I will have had 6 days to marinate in its message.
I have found, previously, that this act alone is provocative. By being aware of Scripture, I become more aware of the many ways that ordinary life connects with it. Of course, not all of those connections are homiletically useful, but that is not the entire point, is it? The point is that good preaching comes from insight into the Scriptures. If we say this is a living text, then we must live with the text in order to preach it with integrity.
So Mondays are dedicated to Investigation. This means that I read the text and I dig around for information. The virtue at play here is curiosity. I try to be less like a theologian and more like a scientist. Fred Craddock encourages the scribing of two lists upon initial reading of the Scripture: one is for all the bits of information within the text that one needs to know more about. For instance, last week I preached on the Samaritan woman (John 4). In the text is mentioned Jacob's well. Ideally (the truly operative word), on Monday I look up Jacob's well. I look up cross-references in the scripture, notes in the study Bible margins, Bible dictionary entries and online material. It doesn't matter if I use any of this information on Sunday. The task is to know as much as possible. More than likely, you will have much more material than you can ever use in any given sermon. But then again, John 4 will come back around.
The second list Fred Craddock encourages upon reading the text is a list of associations. This is subjective and just as important as the objective information. How does one get into the scripture fully? Adults especially learn primarily through association. So what details, motifs, word-plays, descriptions, conversational exchanges, etc. draw me into the play. For instance, in John 4, I searched for the following associations:
- Times I or someone else was in an unexpected place.
- Persons with characters that betrayed their reputations (fictional characters, persons I know, etc.).
- Times I was relieved of a burden.
- Times I heard great news unexpectedly.
There are other techniques that I have picked up along the way, but this is where I am putting my efforts for now--on Mondays.
Image: "Magnified 8/365" by jakebouma Read more...
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