Have you ever influenced or affected a sermon, or thought you had?
Something interesting happened to me this weekend. After the mid-AM Mass, I made a few off-the-cuff remarks to our priest (I'm the parish musician) about a particular passage of his sermon. I do this occasionally, and it's always been a source of good repartee. Sometimes he'll use an Anglican reference, and when he does he usually makes some kind of quip in my direction about me "correcting him later," as I'm a lapsed Episcopalian. It's always good-natured.
On this occasion, though, he didn't fire back as usual, but instead got quiet. I wondered if I had finally overstepped. Anyway, a few other people intervened, and we went our ways for lunch. But, when I returned later that day for the evening Mass, that whole paragraph was left out of the sermon. I didn't ask him about it afterwards, but I'm wondering if I caused that edit.
Has anything like this ever happened to you, from either end of the issue?
On this occasion, though, he didn't fire back as usual, but instead got quiet. I wondered if I had finally overstepped. Anyway, a few other people intervened, and we went our ways for lunch. But, when I returned later that day for the evening Mass, that whole paragraph was left out of the sermon. I didn't ask him about it afterwards, but I'm wondering if I caused that edit.
Has anything like this ever happened to you, from either end of the issue?
Comments
Mind you, I have (very rarely) received positive feedback from sermons I've preached, but mine were always one-offs, and never repeated on any other occasion.
Of course, there is also the old comment about how a sermon should start with a joke, end with a joke and put them as close together as possible. (Could we have an all-joke sermon?)
However, it used to be common practice AIUI in the C of E at least for clergy to have *favourite* sermons, which they would repeat on suitable occasions e.g. Harvest Festival or Christmas. Such sermons might well be treated like unto the Law of the Medes and the Persians, which altereth not!
This instance stuck out to me, and I continue to wonder.
I think you were helpful. Don’t stop the banter.
This.
Tell them what you're going to say.
Say it.
Tell them what you've said.
There are times I have wondered who had told the pastor what I had been thinking about. Most recently I thought though, "Well, this seems to be a matter of wider concern than just at our kitchen table."
We had the complementary problem, where a widespread problem in the congregation (newfound obsession with making money) just happened to be the subject of the lectionary readings for what feels like the whole summer. I mean, Jesus says a LOT about money. And those with this problem accused us of deliberately preaching against them… Given the lectionary texts were chosen and published before I ever joined the Lutheran church, lo, these many years ago, we could disprove it — had they been willing to look at the copyright date. But no, it was our fault.
As a preacher: you will never know.
Anyhow, some years ago it got back to me that the pastor of a church I'd belonged to who'd later started another in a different part of the city, said in one of the inaugural sermons there, 'Gamaliel was right ...'
I was well known to the congregation there. I must admit, I was pleased to hear this as I felt I'd been 'vindicated.' What I was 'right' about, apparently, was various wonky emphases and excesses I'd expressed concern about.
I felt quite pleased about this until my informer told me that the sermon went on to include some of the very things I'd expressed misgivings about.
Partly because of the fissiparous nature of our faith, it wasn't easy to put together a Christian presentation even though we were by far the largest faith community in town. I pressed hard for something to be arranged and succeeded, over a number of years. However another Baptist minister was totally against any interfaith participation and, when we had a joint Baptist service (as we did on summer Sunday evenings), he really had a go at me and my stance during his sermon, although not mentioning my name.
One Sunday the minister used his sermon to criticise those who fall asleep during the church service. Mrs F was none the wiser - she was fast asleep. As far as I know, no-one ever told her that she had been the subject of part of the sermon. It was generally felt that the dig at Mrs F had been unkind.
Reminds me of a joke: Fred was the type of person who always fell asleep during the sermon. One Sunday the pastor thought he would pull a fast one on Fred. As usual, Fred fell asleep. Pastor stopped his sermon and asked everyone who thought they were going to paradise to please quietly stand up. He got them to sit back down. Then in a booming voice, he yelled, "And those who are going to the other place, PLEASE STAND UP." Ole' Fred, all he heard was "STAND UP." He jumped up, looked around, saw the pastor standing at the pulpit. Fred says, "Well, preacher, not sure where we are going, but it is just you and me."
Oh, you have heard that one?