Creating a Sermon

Writing about writing seems to be kind of stupid unless you teach that sort of thing, and I surely don't. I decided to create this post particularly because my sermon on 9/11 was so dicey. It's called "What We Remember" and can be found at the hypertext link. What made this one particularly difficult is that people have expectations about a sermon on the anniversary of a great national tragedy, even more so on its tenth anniversary.

But to make a long story short, worship is concerned first with the word of God and second with the community where the word is heard. This was one of those days when I wasn't so sure the word I was called to proclaim matched up with the community where it was proclaimed.

Preacher, go forth at your own peril.

So, going on at my own peril, I brought what I considered a word of God that was faithful to God and to the community. I knew not everyone would like it, but I prayed then and pray now the word was faithful.

Glory of glories--Someone who had a word to say about the sermon came to me and we talked about the sermon. Here I thank God, we may not agree on what I said, but we agree that Jesus is Lord and from there new life is possible.

I begin sermons with this paraphrase of a line from the Psalms:

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

Amen.

September Newsletter Article

Here is my newsletter article for September:

Dear Friends in Christ,

As a fan of Star Trek, one of the things that always amused me about the Original Series was the ship’s chief medical officer and surgeon, Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. He was smart and capable, but he was also a fish out of water. When situations got out of hand, he would say, “I’m just a simple country doctor.” Capable yet flustered, the writers began having fun with putting the doctor into situations that did not call for a doctor leading to “Bones” telling his Captain who he is and who he is not. These sayings are collected into a piece of the Star Trek pantheon called “I’m a doctor, not a…” Some of these (with some mild variations) include:

“I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer.”

“I'm a surgeon, not a psychiatrist.”

“Look, I'm a doctor, not an escalator.”

“I'm a doctor, not a mechanic.”

“I'm a doctor, not an engineer.”

“I'm a doctor, not a coal miner.”

“I'm not a mechanic, Spock...”

“I'm not a scientist or a physicist, Mr. Spock...”

“I'm not a magician, Spock, just an old country doctor.”

“I will not peddle flesh! I'm a physician.”

“What am I, a doctor or a moon-shuttle conductor?”

You get the idea. This joke became so important to the Star Trek mythology that every doctor in every Trek show has had their own “I’m a doctor, not a…” lines.

The other day, I was chatting with a member of the congregation who told me, “I’m not a theologian.” As soon as I heard this, that wonderful Star Trek line came back to me. 

“I’m a teacher, not a theologian…”

“I’m retired, not a theologian…”

“I’m a mom, not a theologian…”

“I’m a mechanic, not a theologian…”

“I’m a clerk, not a theologian…”

“I’m a carhop, not a theologian…”

“I’m a (insert your label here), not a theologian…”

Again, you get the idea. Well I’m here to tell you that as a child of God you are a theologian. Anyone who says they aren’t is selling themselves short. Anyone who says they aren’t is saying that Sunday School and worship hasn’t informed them at all. And I don’t think that’s true.

While I can’t speak for everyone who has ever said “I’m not a theologian…” perhaps one of the most likely reasons people say this is out of modesty. I honor this, but don’t sell yourself short because we have all answered the greatest theological question in scripture.

In Matthew 13, Jesus asks his disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus then asks them, “But who do you say that I am?”

It is our answer to this very question that begins our road to being theologians! Of course we answer this question like Peter, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus answers Peter saying, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.” We are blessed together knowing that Jesus is the Lord, the Christ, the Messiah—the Son of the living God.

But being theologians is more than this. Being theologians, being the children of the living God is more than what we say with our tongues, it is also what we do with our hands, our feet, our lives.

How we respond to these blessings together as the Body of Christ, that’s the next step in being theologians together. Paul tells the Philippians how important this step is when he tells them, “Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

This is what we are called to do, work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, which is not the same as trying to earn our salvation. We can’t earn our salvation, but we can respond to the gift of salvation we have received by the grace of God. We are saved by grace and we respond by faith, faith that is met by action. This is how we work out our salvation, by letting God use us to fulfill his purposes.

By the end of Star Trek, Dr. McCoy discovers that he will be called upon to be brave and do things he never imagined. So smile, be of good cheer! We are theologians! It is through being active theologians that God can use us. This is true whether you’re a mechanic, a stay at home mom, a teacher, or even a doctor. We are called to the work of good theologians. To God goes the glory!

See you in church!

Paul