Sometimes our weekly sermon will dovetail perfectly with our over-arching focus. The example above about the rich young ruler being told to sell all he has and give to the poor during a stewardship arc is a great example. Usually, however, the point of our sermon will not line up so precisely, especially if we are preaching from the lectionary. To move forward, we need to find ways to incorporate some aspect of our larger goal into the weekly goal.
Many weeks, some aspect of the scripture readings connects with where we want the congregation to move. If the focus is on welcoming and hospitality, perhaps a character in the Hebrew Scripture reading exhibits hospitality in an interesting way or the Epistle lesson touches tangentially on the theme. Highlighting it for a minute or two as the reading is preached doesn’t detract from the sermon. Letting the camera linger a little longer supports the long-term goals without detracting from the coherence of the sermon. The ability to incorporate a long-term point can influence the direction of the current week’s theme without dominating it.
Other weeks, the scriptural passages may seemingly have nothing to do with the long-term sermon goal. Those weeks offer a couple of options. The easiest is to ignore the long-term focus for a week and pick it up again the following week. Not everything can, or should, happen every week. Sometimes the Spirit is moving in a different direction and God is ultimately responsible for giving the congregation what it needs. Ignoring the long-term focus is not the only faithful option, however. Most congregations are willing to follow a preacher, especially a preacher who is their pastoral leader, in more than one direction on a Sunday.
Some weeks, a sermon allows for an aside. A homiletics teacher might reduce a sermon grade for such detours, but these digressions can be meaningful for a congregation. A preacher can, in effect, say, “Let me pause for a minute to look at something else that I think is important.” If the main sermon can be tied up seamlessly around or in spite of the diversion, a congregation is probably willing to listen. Such asides can also happen at the beginning of a sermon in ways that do not interfere with the structure and impact of the week’s message. I have frequently opened a sermon by saying that before I begin to talk about this week’s gospel, I want to look at a particular thing that happened that week. When the introduction connects to something else in the parish or in recent sermons, such homiletical preludes can work. One effective technique is highlighting something in the parish that happened over the past week that embodied part of the long-term sermon theme. When the congregational activity corresponds to a point preached over the previous couple of weeks, finding a way to mention it is essential.
A final way of integrating part of the long-term sermon focus with the scriptural readings of the day is by preaching what amounts to two shorter sermons on the same morning. I have explicitly explained to the congregation that I was doing this on some occasions, while on others I have made a rather abrupt pivot using an admittedly inadequate segue. While this may seem to break all the rules, preaching two sermons backto-back has a number of advantages. Primarily, such practice treats the biblical text with integrity while also honoring the need to deal with an important aspect of the congregation’s life. The sermons need not be equal length, and I have done them with either sermon first. I can see how long I need to talk about something contributing to the long-term focus, and then start with those points or end with them, depending on the week’s theme. Usually the biblical text either lends itself to a more expository sermon that I would more likely put first, or it has a strong application that I would want to end with.
Some of you may be horrified by reading the above paragraphs. I admit that I would have been extremely skeptical of these techniques before I was the senior pastor and primary preacher of a parish for an extended length of time. What I have found is that structuring sermons in these creative ways has allowed me to provide the congregation with the information and encouragement needed to move them forward, and to repeat that movement over a number of cycles. Rarely, if ever, have I personally been able to achieve those kinds of results by focusing exclusively on my weekly preaching message.
Scripture, the Lectionary, and Long-Term Sermons
Scripture has its own integrity, and that integrity must be honored. Therefore, one important aspect of preaching that I do not advocate changing is how we deal with the biblical text. Certainly, preachers preach sermons that move in different directions from the same text. The needs of the congregation are important in determining which direction a sermon will take. The polyvalence of the text does not mean that any sermon can be preached on any text, however, nor does a long-term sermon focus provide an excuse for isogesis or sloppy scripture study. As preachers, we need to engage the text on its own terms before we bring our own needs and the needs of our congregation to it.
Even well-discerned needs, chosen in prayerful collaboration with the entire congregation, are still not an excuse to play fast and loose with the Word of God. Part of why I believe that asides, detours, or even sharing two sermons at once can be helpful is that we need to be clear what is part of the exposition and application of a scriptural passage and what is not. I would much rather say, “Our gospel reading says this; I also believe that is important,” than to say, “Our gospel reading says this and sort of, kind of says that if you stretch it almost or just past the breaking point.” Be clear about the distinction between what the Bible says and what the preacher says.
A long-term preaching focus does not supersede the lectionary for denominations like the Episcopal Church that use a lectionary for their scriptural readings and preaching texts, nor does it override other elements of the liturgical year. The lectionary’s strength is the ability to move through a variety of topics that a preacher might otherwise forget about or ignore. The liturgical year also ensures that all the important points of salvation history and the life of Christ are celebrated and emphasized. The church, in its wisdom, has provided these cycles to prevent preachers from focusing solely on their current great idea while ignoring everything else. Congregations need to hear sermons covering a wide variety of scripture, doctrine, and spiritual discipline on a regular basis, even while they may be consistently learning a new language in a particular area.
One or more of the lectionary texts will likely determine the focus for the sermon of the week. The texts from the lectionary will also be read out loud to the congregation in almost all cases. Even if, for some reason, the preacher decides to preach on a theme not covered by the lectionary texts, the people still hear the scripture readings themselves. Preaching on a theme not stemming from the readings is rarely helpful. For me, I have limited such preaching to congregational events like the Stewardship Sunday or Annual Meeting Sunday, or in response to an external event such as the bombing of African American churches or a rancorous election. In some rare cases, I have asked for permission from the bishop to substitute one of the lectionary readings to preach on a particular text, as I did with Malachi during a stewardship series. Again, I do this rarely and try to maintain the lectionary readings so the congregation still hears them. Even using the lectionary, I have been able to preach extended sermons consistently.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion