Confessions of a Humble Preacher

It is Good Friday as I write this.  This is perhaps the darkest, yet most triumphant day in our calendar as Christians.  It is dark, for on this day our Lord suffered public humiliation, torture, and execution for a whole lot of poor sinners like me.  It is triumphant because in a way only God can arrange, this death led to life.  The suffering was the way to victory.  As a minister of the Gospel Holy Week is the highlight of the year for me.  The procession of services from Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and finally the worship on Easter morning are the services I look forward to most.  I relish this time of the year because it is absolutely the core of our faith.  Apart from the events of this weekend the church is little more than a social organization clothed in fancy, churchy language. 

Now for the confession, I have a love/hate relationship with actually preaching during this season.  Yes, I would rather preach Maundy Thursday and Easter than any other day of the year.  What Christian minister could not love and relish the opportunity to preach on these holy days?  I also hate preaching these days, because these sermons are most difficult for me.  Sermons in Holy Week come only with difficulty.  Preaching this week is more than exegete text, apply text, and craft sermon.  Many people in our churches have heard these resurrection accounts for years.  They know the story.  The difficulty is magnified by the simple fact that it is Easter, and we preachers want to really deliver our very best this day- and congregants want to hear something meaningful. 

If you are one of the good folks who gather with me in worship this weekend, I make no promise about what comes from my mouth.  I can only say that the words that do come out were probably laboriously produced, and uttered with an equal combination of fear and joy.

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