June 2, 2008
Listen
It simply never occurred to me that whatever I said from the pulpit of a Sunday morning would make much difference except to somebody who couldn’t remember whether or not they had turned off the oven before leaving home. The only way it did seem to matter, however, was to be careful whom I quoted. Mention “Bishop James Pike,” and I could watch the hearing aids — real and virtual — shutting down. Plagiarize him, and get nothing but praise from the narthex traffic for whatever he said that they thought I had said.
Actually, we got little comfort on the subject from our seminary homiletics prof. He said that about all anybody would remember about our preaching would be the jokes… if any… and that there should always be a few.
But things have changed. Church and state are supposed to be separated in our nation’s polity, but I guess actually only when it’s convenient. If you can’t find anything else negative to say about some aspirant for public office, check out what kind of preachments they’ve been listening to. It used to be a plus for a person just to show at church now and then in order to get a leg up on an election. Nobody seemed to care much about whether or what you believed. It is said that even Hitler believed in God. Now you can praise torture out of one side of your mouth anytime you want so long as you praise the Lord out of the other.
I suppose it’s a positive thing that people seem to be paying more attention to sermons now than ever before. From what I hear, it might be a good thing if maybe some preachers will catch on and do the same.
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