Random Thoughts on Preaching by Catholic Lay Woman

Random Thoughts on Preaching using the Revised Common Lectionary by a Catholic Lay Woman

            As a Catholic Lay woman who has never been formally trained in preaching, who am I to preach?  I am not allowed to preach in the Catholic Church, that being reserved to ordained priests and deacons, and yet that is what I’ve been doing in other settings.  For the past twelve years I’ve been preaching each Sunday at services at the retirement community where I held the position of chaplain, using the Revised Common Lectionary as the basis for my preaching. 

I liked using the Revised Common Lectionary.  I liked knowing that millions of people throughout the world are hearing the same readings and hearing sermons preached on those readings, yet no two will be alike.  To me, that is incredible.

            I loved the challenge of trying to find a common theme for all three of the readings.  It was like solving a puzzle each week.  I know that preaching instructors would say this is not a good idea, that this is a beginner’s mistake - the readings weren’t set up with a common theme. Usually the Gospel and Old Testament readings were connected but then you had these letters thrown in to provide a different direction for preaching if desired, not to make the preacher do mental gymnastics in order to find a connection.  But that is what I liked to do. 

Good preachers I’ve heard stick to one reading, one theme that they develop in depth.  Some even preach a whole sermon on one verse of Scripture.  But then I don’t claim to be good.  I guess I’m just a beginner, especially in comparison to others who have had extensive training and more years of experience than I have had. 

I loved being forced to reflect on God’s word by my weekly deadline.  I would reflect on the readings, pray about them, carry them with me in my head all week, asking first what God was saying to me through these readings, then what God might be saying to my people. It is work, hard work, it took up a good portion of my week, yet it was good work, God’s work. 

I will miss it now that I no longer hold this position.  It seems I’m a fraud who has finally been found out.  But then who among us is truly worthy to speak God’s words?

copyright Robertson, August 2012

Psalm 30:5b - Joy comes with the morning

Psalm 30:  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Joy comes with the morning.  I’ve been living with this passage for the past month, since July 18 when my position as chaplain was abruptly eliminated.  One minute I was planning out the next month’s sermons, an hour later I was sitting in my car with twelve years of my life packed into the trunk and back seat. 

The psalm I was scheduled to preach on next was Psalm 30.  When I read it the next morning, I felt comforted by its assurance of rejoicing in the morning.  I wasn’t rejoicing yet, but the promise was there.

            As I dealt with shock, denial, anger and sadness over the loss of this position, I’ve reminded myself repeatedly, in the morning rejoicing.  This too will pass.  Perhaps I’m on the verge of the greatest adventure yet; this next chapter in my life might very well be the best.  I’ve reflected on these words as I’ve puzzled over what to do about my sojourn into the realm of Psalms.  Not even a third of the way through, I know I don’t want to quit, but how to continue?  In the morning comes rejoicing.

            I no longer have the necessity of preparing a sermon every week to push me into Scripture, but I’m also free to go in different directions.  Freed of the need to come up with fifteen to twenty minutes worth of material, I can write shorter, more reflective pieces if I want.  But what do I want?  A good question.  In John’s gospel Jesus asks his disciples, “What are you looking for?  What do you want?”  So, what do I want?

            Joy comes with the mourning.  Joy can be found within mourning and grief.  The writers of the Psalms didn’t wait for God to deliver before thanking God for blessings.  They thank God in advance.  In the midst of lamentations, the writers thank God for hearing their cries, confident that God will come through for them.  And so I trust, in the morning comes rejoicing.  I don’t know what shape this rejoicing will take; I just know it will happen. 

The sorrows of today, the struggles and challenges, all will pass, will seem like but a minute in comparison to the joys that tomorrow will hold.  God is creating a glorious future for me, opening a window to replace the door that shut.  Sorrow lasts but for a moment, joy comes with the morning.  Each day is a new beginning.

“Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, that my soul may praise thee and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee forever.”  Psalm 30:11-12