I’m always glad when Easter is over. It’s a sad thing for a member of the clergy to say, but here’s why.
It’s only when the festival is over that I can truly enjoy it. Leading people in worship and helping people realise the importance of the great festivals is a great privilege and responsibility, and I wouldn’t want to change that. It’s just that occasionally it would be good to be on the receiving end for a change. Am I the only one who feels this way ? I don’t think so.
In general terms, clergy give out for 46 weeks of the year attempting to compile something that is interesting and original for their congregation, and for the holiday weekends, clergy may wish to avoid church. Alternatively, these holiday Sundays are nuggets or oases if I can mix metaphors, where we are fed instead of doing the feeding.
Some may say that the clergy ought to be fed through their own Bible study and thinking time, but those who say that don’t often realise that the demands made on clergy time mean that often the first thing sacrificed is that very reflection time. I’m not particularly proud of that, nor do I think that I’m unique. Whenever I look at a Bible passage, I am automatically thinking how I can preach on it. Every passage that I preach on is first preached to me, but that is not what reflecting on the Bible ought to be about. It ought to be inwardly digested and considered without the pressure of a sermon delivery place upon it.
For all those who give their preachers a word of encouragement, thank you and bless you. For others of you, please consider doing so. These encouraging words are ones we ALL need to hear.
Posted in Uncategorized
