If you have a moment after the service today, I suggest taking a look at the statues on the pulpit. All famous preachers. They remind me of a sermon I heard a few years ago – a recording – by Gardiner Taylor, a famous African American preacher.
He began by speaking about some famous preachers of his own generation, Martin Luther King and others. He then traced his way backward through some of history’s other famous preachers: John Wesley preaching outdoors at Hanham Mount beginning a new wave of preaching and revivals. John Chrysostom preaching from the pulpit in Constantinople, railing against the Empress in the heart of the Empire’s capital. Saint Peter preaching at Pentecost leading to the conversion of thousands. John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness. Jeremiah preaching in the temple and going unheeded.
All great preachers, but – and this is such a great line favorite line– All great preachers, but… in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Word – both spoken and divine – is a common theme in all of today’s readings. Isaiah proclaims “I will not keep silent!” The Psalm reminds us that the Word of the Lord runs very swiftly. Saint Paul tells us that it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit in us that we are able to cry out “Abba, Father!”. And of course, the opening words of the Gospel according to Saint John’s:
In the beginning was the Word. The Word is with God and is God. It is through the Word that everything is created. It is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. It is the Word that has filled us with grace. And it is the Word that has made known to us the Father. But Saint John does not stop there. It is also the Word that makes us one with the Father. And it is the Word that abides in us forever.
Today I want to preach about preaching. Preaching is not just for preachers in the pulpit or for that matter for who are pictured on this pulpit. You don’t need to be able to fill Madison Square Garden to be an effective preacher. A preacher doesn’t even need to be a great speaker. A preacher needs only one thing, and that one thing you all have. All anyone needs to preach is to know Jesus
The words of Saint John are not all high theology. He opens his first letter by noting how easy it is to preach: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life… that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
Those who preach have the Word, and that means all of us can preach. If you believe in Jesus, you can talk about him. And that makes you a preacher.
A question might be: How do I speak about Jesus? Speaking about Jesus is actually not that different than speaking about anything else. Whenever I go to a party I prepare a few talking points so that no matter who I encounter I will have something to say. I pick a few things that are relevant to the time of year or the party I am at, things that I also enjoy talking about and can talk about for 5 minutes to anyone.
Its easy, and its something that I think can work equally well when trying to figure out how to talk about Jesus.
This Christmas season is very special at Saint Mary’s, its full of things to talk about to anyone: friends, families, people who are visiting the church and have wondered into Coffee Hour. Here’s three things that anyone can speak about to anyone else:
1) Tonight we are offering a service of Lessons and Carols for the first time. It’s a wonderful service, full of great hymns and you get to hear all of the best Christmas readings.
2) Looking for something to do on New Year’s Day – the most boring day of the year? Well, come to Saint Mary’s! We are one of the few churches in the city offering a great service on a day that everyone can go. The Saint Mary’s Singers will debut at Solemn Mass and we’ll get to sing some of the best known Christmas hymns.
3) At the end of Christmastide our Sunday School is going to put on an Epiphany Pageant. I can personally guarantee it will be the most entertaining and also the shortest children’s pageant you’ve ever been to.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and filled us with grace, even grace upon grace.
What if every Christian felt so full of grace and so full of the Word of God that abides with us, that the Word could no longer be contained? I think that every Sunday the church would look and feel a little more like Christmas.
