I watched an interview of Gordon Downey of The Tragically Hip. I forget where it was. Probably MuchMusic. Anyway, I was impressed with his attempts to sing songs totally improv. He might start with a prepared line, but take it extemporaneously after that. And I love the Hip! See them last night on the Junos? As LAME as the show was, the live acts were great.The reason Downey’s improv approach impressed me was because I’ve been trying the same thing when I teach on Sunday mornings. My approach is that instead of trying to prepare a speech to hand to the observers Sunday morning like a glass of water, I continually replenish my own well and then speak out of the abundance or sparsity of my own reserves. It can be so scary to stand up, read a verse or so, then lay myself open to the people and speak what comes to my mind. It requires a calm confidence, a kind of relaxed repose, to pull it off.
Some Sundays it seems to be fine. Some Sundays it sucks. The difference is not the quantity of water in my own well (because I do try to keep it full), but my insecurity, desire to please, fear of rejection, or even physical health. Anything can affect it. Like yesterday, I could feel that I wasn’t in touch with myself. It didn’t work as well. But, instead of standing up with a prepared speech that the passive audience sits under, I talked and allowed people to interject, question, comment, and even disagree. It is quite interactive and dynamic. Even if I am “off” and the talk sucks, it is still real, human, and involves the whole community. I prefer improv.
The fine art photograph is the creation of my friend Mark Hemmings, and is from his “Mannequin” series.
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Sunday I spoke on Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the whale. He called it “Sheol”. It was his hell. From his prayer we can tell what his hell looked like:
- The Absence of God: “I am driven away from your sight” (2:4). This isn’t concocted or pretended. It is real. Jonah doesn’t feel God’s presence at all. Some mystics call this the dark night of the soul. It is horrible and real. Jesus experienced this on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This isn’t a spiritual exercise, but the reality for many, many people. When people are going through this, even for years, this must be respected.
- The Inability to Worship: “How can I look again at your holy temple?” (2:4). Jonah could not worship. There are times, sometimes long seasons, when worship doesn’t seem possible. How can you worship something that isn’t tangibly there? When people go through these seasons, this must be respected.
- Utter Confusion: “Weeds were wrapped around my head” (2:5). This is when the intellect, rightfully, gets offended and confused, dismayed. All your previous theology and thought patterns no longer suffice because they are challenged by the reality of your sufferings. We tend to try to go back to our easier beliefs, but this is escapism, denial, and useless. When people are going through this, this must be respected.
- Hopelessness: “I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever” (2:5). Jonah’s life was over. Done. He hadn’t read the book yet. He didn’t know the end of the story. He was finished. If anyone is going through a time of deep hopelessness, this must be respected.
- The Feeling of Dying: “My life was ebbing away” (2: 7). Jonah could feel his life slipping away from his grasp. He was dying, watching his time trickle away. When people feel death at work in their lives, this must be respected.
The discussion Sunday morning was lively. Basically, we resist all of these realities. We unconsciously or consciously refuse to acknowledge these as defining the truth of the human condition, and we often retreat into our securities. Some people there Sunday morning are where Jonah was at. They’re going through their own hell. Others have been there and knew what was being said. Others acknowledged that they just didn’t want to go there. It was too frightening and uncomfortable, and they preferred to stand in the comfort of what they believed. It was a good discussion.
The illustration is of a woodcut called “Jonah and the Whale” from the American artists, Barry Moser.
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I went to church pretty unprepared. I’m trying to teach more extemporaneously anyway. But your mind plays tricks on you so that usually you are prepared, just in your mind. This time I was totally unprepared. Many people in our congregation are suffering at new and interesting levels that I find rather concerning. We have people who are grieving serious loss, unemployment, child issues, marital issues, money problems, illness and more. The leadership of the church is weak right now because the leaders are particularly targeted, in my opinion. So I wanted to preach a sermon on “longsuffering”, using Galatians 5:22 as my text… longsuffering being one of the fruit of the Spirit. But after doing an extensive word-study on it, I came to discover, to my surprise… Read More
Yesterday for my talk I read from John 7: 37-52. In a profoundly radical statement, Jesus says, “Let anyone who thirsts come and drink.” Jesus makes a simple invitation ascribing spiritual authority to the individual. Each one can come, if they are thirsty, and drink.
But right on the heels of this subversive invitation all kinds of oppositions, obstacles, excuses, distractions and alternatives come rushing in: popular opinion (some say he’s the Prophet, some say he’s the Messiah, some say he’s an Impostor); scriptural authority (essentially, “read the scriptures that say this can’t be possible!”); geography and ethnicity (“if he’s from Galilee, it isn’t valid); government authorities (the temple police don’t know what to do with him); religious and spiritual authorities (the chief priests rule him out); legal authorities (Pharisees); and tradition or historical authority (“No one’s ever talked like this before”).
This isn’t strange, but typical. These are just a few of the things that attempt to prevent us from direct encounter and a spiritual authority that is our own. Everyone else got upset because Jesus was liberating people without anyone else’s permission, endorsement, or approval. Which is why, I think, Jesus said, “Let them come!” I feel my ministry is largely a ministry of removing obstacles and liberating people into their own authority. Let them!
The pic is original art found here.
Here’s a pic of one of my son’s, Jesse, who’s turning 18. He’s finally and finely dressed in one of the first suits I ever owned. I took this today because he just looked so funny in his fine Russian hat, expensive Italian shoes, and the suit. He’s looking sad because he’s just being a goof. He’s usually hilarious. But he’s not usually dressed up like this. I love him and I like him too which can be rare for teenagers. I’m up at 2:37 a.m. because he just called again and needs a ride home, so I have to go pick him up. His curfew was 1 a.m., but he called at 1 to beg an extension, and we granted it. He was going to get a ride home but a friend changed his mind or something. I have to get up in about 3 hours to get my stuff together for the worship service and my sermon this morning. I’m just telling you all this so you’ll understand why we pastors can seem to suck on Sunday morning or seem absent-minded or out of it. It’s because if we have teenage children, we’ve been up half the night. Anyway, wish me good luck and good night.
so my talk SUCKED today. i mean SUCKED!!!!! i could tell when i was in the middle of it, and i was too discombobulated to do anything about it. i have to learn my own lesson of what i was trying to say about mary… that you shouldn’t try to MAKE things happen. that was my problem: trying to MAKE something happen. GEEEEEZ!!!!!! when will i EVER learn???
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like tonight, for instance, i realized that i didn’t want to preach tomorrow. i was dreading it. i ALWAYS take that as a sign, sometimes too late, that something is wrong. it’s 8:30 pm, a little late wouldn’t you think to redo a talk you are giving in a little over 12 hours, and you have to get a sleep in there. you know, we pastors can be dense! thick in the head. we’re slow to learn. sometimes i’ve been up preaching, and right in the middle of my sermon i realize that something is wrong. terribly wrong. a couple of times i’ve stopped and redirected myself right then and there. that scares the **** out of you, let me tell ya. so, it’s this late saturday night and i still want to drink wine with my wife, watch a movie, visit with our kids, and get some sleep, and my sermon SUCKS! and i know it deep down inside because i dread the thought of preaching it.
here’s what i do. i sit down and give myself a speedy self-analysis. it takes seconds sometimes: what’s wrong? why aren’t you feeling comfortable with what you’ve planned to say? what about the sermon turns you off? obviously you don’t truly agree with what you are going to preach, or you are preaching legalism of some sort, or you’re twisting the text to say something it doesn’t say, or you really couldn’t say what you’re planning on saying with integrity, or it’s just so frigging boring that you’re dreading the thought of keeping yourself awake during it, as well as the people.
i’m planning on preaching on mary’s response to the angelic visitation: “here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be unto me as you have said!” 3 points: 1. i’m here; 2. i’m your servant; 3. your will be done. i was going to preach on 1. making ourselves available to the lord; 2. serve the lord; and 3. trust the lord. BLAH!!!! been there done that threw out the tee-shirt. after i gave myself some analysis, i realized what i really wanted to say, or what the text was begging to say, was that mary, through the earthly life of her son jesus, simply had to 1. just be there in a non-interfering manner (nothing really more was required); 2. just be available as he grew up; and 3. let the will of God be done in hers and in jesus’ life, no matter how painful and confusing. mary was chosen because God could count on her to let jesus grow up in his own way, that she would be available to him as a helper when needed, and that she would not prevent the austere will of God from being fulfilled in her son’s life. i want to talk about, now i realize, how i as a pastor, we as people, and we as a church, must be that way with the ‘jesus’ in others: 1. don’t interfere; 2. just be available in whatever helpful way we can; 3. let God’s will be done in their lives, no matter how painful. now THAT turns me on. THAT’S what i want to say! and once i realize what i want to say, there’s really no stopping me. preparation is no longer an issue.
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David Hayward is a pastor artistically stripping to the essential.
