Monday Morning Sermon – the Word

I would guess that any preacher will tell you that however special, or even inspired, the Sunday (or whenever) preaching event might be, it’s the sermon that seeps out into the preacher’s head on Monday that is often the one we want to keep and marinate in for a while. This is very often the case with me.

So Sunday I preached a sermon about what Christians believe about the Bible. (I know, put that way probably not a message that would spring you out of bed and into your church clothes…) But at its heart it’s life-changing news. Really.

Christians (and non-Christians, for that matter), often have a funny relationship with the Bible. Too often, the Bible is simply a resource that we might resort to in special situations–and usually to shore up our opinions about something. It’s a little like having a really smart cousin living with you, but you don’t speak to him or listen to him very often because he’s, well, you know, a little awkward.

But that’s not the Christian view of the Bible–a book that happens to have an opinion about itself. The Bible isn’t a specimen (and therefore able to be co-opted for our ends); it’s alive, pulsing with the presence and power of God. In Luke 24, Jesus joins two disciples who are brokenhearted over Jesus’ death, and shell-shocked at the unsubstantiated rumor of his resurrection. They’re trying to figure it out. (Aren’t we all?) Jesus comes alongside and explains, from cover to cover (it was a smaller cover in those days) how all the Scriptures point to him. And to top it all off, he himself is the one pointing this out! Jesus himself is the point, and the goal, and the focus of the Bible. Everything in the Old Testament eventually culminates in him; everything in the New Testament explodes from him as we come to terms with him.

As I was walking on Sunday afternoon, it occurred to me that this isn’t just academic; the same is true on a different scale in each person’s life. Everything in our life–good, bad, and otherwise; all our hopes, met and dashed; all our stories of victory and tragedy, courage and cowardice–culminates somehow in the person of Jesus, whether we realize it or not. We aren’t made by and for the Bible, but by and for him. And in the Bible, he is present, alive; God speaks the Word, and the Word is Jesus. The Bible tells us about him, and reorients our life to him; and he, fully alive, is the key to understanding it.

I’ve Been Away

They say you should never start a speech with a disclaimer, but here’s mine. I’ve been away. From writing. This. Blog. Not that anyone has complained, but I am climbing back in the saddle. (And it’s not that I don’t write; I write all the time–sermons, articles, letters, notes, etc–but this is different.) I have a note from Louis L’Amour on my wall that taunts & encourages me every day: “Start writing, no matter what.” So, if you’re my friend, I’d appreciate your encouragement. Say, “Hey, I saw your blog,” and let the awkward silence that follows motivate me to keep working at it. If it’s drivel, blame Louis L’Amour.