Preaching

I recently read Doug Gay’s God Be In My Mouth in which he helpfully explores the task of preaching, reflecting on its importance and its possibilities. As he says: “To be called to preach is to be called to see the world as clearly and honestly as we can. It involves an ongoing attempt, in the words of Burns, ‘To see oursels as ithers see us’, but it also requires a willingness to see what other people see, not to look away from poverty or suffering or injustice or privilege. The seeing is important, because sermons turn seeing into words.”

Preaching is certainly both a privilege and a responsibility and those of us who are called to engage in it do well to take time to reflect on that calling and just how we are engaging with it. The book reflects on different aspects and perspectives. It is not easy to preach well but, sometimes surprisingly, even our most faltering efforts can be used in amazing ways by God.

As in all aspects of discipleship, what matters is that we do our best. God expects us to do what we can, not what we can’t – and will use that – but it is important to take the calling seriously, do what we can, and then leave the rest to God.

As Doug says, ““Preachers in every era of the Christian church find themselves in messy, compromised and contested situations, in which they have to do their best - and in which they often fail. Thank God, some preachers manage to speak with prophetic and luminous clarity on certain issues at key moments. No preachers speak rightly about everything, all the time. We may (and should) pray ‘God be in my mouth’, but we will look around and look back to see that, in the mouths of others and in our own preaching mouths, there was also confusion, prejudice, ignorance, oppression and fear.”