A lot of Christian preaching isn't really seriously about story. I don't want to conquer mystery. I want to celebrate it. And in the modern era we have 'Seven Steps to Prayer,' 'Four Steps to Financial--whatever.'' Those all, I assume, have their place.
But what often happens is God gets shrunk down in the process. In the effort to boil things down, God gets boiled down. And there have to be spaces where mystery is simply celebrated.
The true orthodox faith is deeply mysterious, and every question that's answered leads to a new set of questions. A lot of preaching tries to answer everything. At the end of the sermon, people walk out with no more questions. But if it's truly proclamation of truth rooted in God--
The rabbis believe that the text is like a gem: the more you turn it the more the light refracts. I heard a guy one time say, 'Oh yeah, I got a sermon on that verse. I got it pretty much nailed.' What? Are you out of your mind? You have that nailed? I just endlessly turn it.
Wow great stuff! So how do I apply this to tomorrow's sermon...a text and a sermon that I am not all that excited about?
There is some mystery in this text...let the mystery speak.
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