The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and Preaching
While writing daily for this little project, I am also continuing to preach each Sunday for a small congregation nearby. Each week, throughout the week, I am pondering what to write for the sermon. I am “writing” it all week long.
My father had a ritual on Saturday nights which I inserted myself into, though he didn’t know it. He was a preacher too. And, every Saturday night after he, my mom, and I would have supper together — often in front of the TV- he would go to his office at the church. That happened to be right next door to our house, the house was owned by the congregation. He would write his sermon for the next morning. The way I inserted myself into this ritual is that I would take my bath after supper, put on my nightgown or PJ’s, climb into his recliner, and watch more TV. His recliner was brown, classic, leather. Actually, it was likely some sort of fake leather, but I didn’t know that when I was a kid. And, when I sat in the recliner, I could see out the window of our back door, across the yard, up the hill, and to the window of his office. I watched The Love Boat, then Fantasy Island, and during the commercial breaks, I would glance to see if the light had gone out yet. When it did, I knew he was walking down the hill and coming home.
When I was a bit older and was certain that I knew absolutely everything, I asked him once, “Daddy, why do you wait until Saturday night to write your sermon? You have all week!”
My dad was a laid back guy, to say the least — by the time I came along anyway. I hear he mellowed over the years. He could have gotten angry at my teen sarcasm or even given me a speech about the mysterious ways of God and how hard it is to be a preacher. Instead, he just tilted his head to the side, tapped it with his right ring finger, while holding a cigarette between the index and middle and said, “It’s all up here, Tiffany. It’s all up here.”
I acted like I understood that at the time. I did not. But, once I began preaching regularly, I realized what he meant. I don’t think most folks realize it, but preachers are thinking about their sermons absolutely all the time. That’s why you should be careful because you may become a sermon illustration! We study the scripture early in the week and then it ruminates or marinates or percolates, whichever one of the “ates” you prefer. Even our dreams help us discern what we should preach this week.
A lot of preachers write early. Congrats to them. And, I know I could if I was more disciplined. I don’t know. Maybe it helps me feel connected to Dad somehow by writing on Saturday night. But, it has been “up here” all week.
So, I don’t know what Saturdays will be like for this project. Maybe sometimes I’ll share a sermon I’ve written. Maybe sometimes I’ll pop on here to say, “I’ve done my writing today, but you will have to trust me.” That is what this is, essentially. I’ve done my writing today. This is Year 49.
