EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2007 I began a new adventure as a synodically authorized minister at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. The ride over the past 2.5 years has been an amazing journey of learning, growing and deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Jan. 21, 2018.
I’m sorry but I’m going to pull a bit of a switcheroo on you. … My message today is based on the passage Philippians 3:12-14. And you won’t find that passage in your bulletin because I ran across it in another setting this past week and it simply gripped me. … And yes, I knew that the Holy Spirit had spoken to me.
So let me read it to you … Philippians 3:12-14.
“12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”
That is the NSRV version. … Now let me read you the Contemporary English Bible version:
“12 I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. 13 My friends, I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. 14 I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.”
Let me repeat that first line: “I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me.”
I’m curious what you might hear in those words, as you know each of us hears a little something different in scripture depending who we are and where were at in life. But to me, I hear a statement that speaks to all of us: You and me and all of Faith Lutheran. … “I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. … But Christ has taken hold of me.”
Let’s just leave that there for a moment if we can, as I would like to share a story with you. … Rewind about 14 days ago and I found myself sitting in a preaching class at Luther Seminary. The professor is a renowned academic, speaking at conferences worldwide, but she’s also a powerful and well-known working preacher too.
We were there to learn the fundamentals of biblical preaching. Now, in some sense, I’m sure that sounds a bit nonsensical. After all, isn’t all preaching biblically based? … Well, not really. There certainly is a lot of biblically based preaching done, but there are also many other types of preaching you will run into. And, frankly, my brand of preaching probably falls into one of those other camps.
So, there I was, sitting in this class for four hours every afternoon for a full week. And in these classes, being you are only there for one week, you hit them hard. And so from the opening minutes of Monday’s class Professor Karoline Lewis launched into hours long discourses over the importance of and the how tos of biblical preaching.
Now, if you’ve ever found yourself sitting in a classroom, and all of a sudden the teacher starts talking about a subject that sounds completely foreign to you, you’ll start to imagine how I was feeling. After the first fours hours of class on Monday, I left stunned because I had just learned that everything I normally do in the pulpit was simply wrong. … Imagine wearing that load on your shoulders, while trying to cram study for the next day’s classes.
Well, I did just that. I crammed and studied some more that night and read further in the textbook, and reread all of the information she had presented that day. ... I was determined that I was going to do better the next day.
Day two arrived, and there I was, back in Karoline Lewis’ preaching class. We settled in and she launched into the subject again. I mean intense. And wouldn’t you know it, my confidence waned over the course of the next four hours.
And finally after the second day of class, I sheepishly approached the professor and asked if we could talk.
She said certainly, and asked what was up. I laid it all out there. I explained how crestfallen that I had become and that I was questioning my ability to preach. And all she did was nod knowingly. … “That’s not an uncommon feeling at this point,” she said. “Why don’t you come back tomorrow and tell me how you’re doing.” … Alright, I said. I will.
So, Day 3 arrived, and sometime late the class I started to feel a little bit more confident. … The subject didn’t seem as daunting as the previous two days. But, I was still nowhere near confident enough that I had overcome questioning if I was certain that I knew what I was doing. But, as I said I would, after class I went to visit the professor. She again asked how I was doing. I said, well, I suppose a tad better. … She irritatingly nodded knowingly again, smiled and said, “Good.”
I left, still confused, but somehow knowing something was sinking in, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
The next day, Day 4, I headed back to class with a full head of steam, feeling even a little more confident still. … I seemed to get where she was going in class a little more, and it was all making a bit more sense.
After class, I eagerly approached Professor Karoline Lewis with my newfound confidence, and I exclaimed, “I’m getting! … I may not be the biblically based preacher you are calling for, but by the end of this coming semester, I will be!” … And I beamed!
Well, Professor Lewis’ smile grew even bigger, and she looked me squarely in the eyes, and said firmly … “No. ... That is not the message.”
I left dejected, to say the least.
I really had felt like I had figured it out and was catching on in class. … But, that night I rebounded, more determined than ever to figure out what the message she was trying to tell me was.
So, I studied again that fourth night. After all, I only had one more class to decipher this message. And so I read text studies and bounced ideas back and forth, and generally wracked my brain to figure this puzzle out. Defeated, I went to bed, and waited restlessly for the last day of class.
Day 5 arrived. And I went to class, and it seemed like a long-g-g-g-g four hours. Finally, after class, I approached Karoline Lewis and said, “I’m stumped. When I was struggling in the class, you told me to go home and work it through. And then when I thought that I started getting the objective of the class, you threw me a curveball and told me I was missing the point.”
No longer outfitted with the knowing smile, her look turned stern, and all 5 foot even of her stood tall. … She proceeded to jab her pointer finger into my chest, and said, “My point is … no, maybe your not a biblically based preacher by nature. … And, yes, I will make you follow that structure for the purposes of this class, but ... that doesn’t mean that you will be a biblically based preacher forever. … And in fact, I’m betting that you won’t. ... But that’s OK.”
She went on: “God has called you to be Preacher Devlyn. .. Not Preacher Karoline. … Not the preacher before at your church, or the preacher at the next church over. … He has called you to be Preacher You.”
Wow. … Right? … So that’s how I left Luther that week, with this profound thought ruminating in my head. And, while that would be cool enough if that were the end of the story. … It’s not.
So fast forward one day. … I’m back here at home and I’m scheduled to attend a synod retreat event with LaDawn and Bob, two of your council members. … And we’re sitting around a table, greeting everyone, and the program starts. … And as the pastor who was leading the morning session began, she said, let’s start with a centering devotion.
She flashed to the next slide, and wouldn’t you know it, there is Philippians 3:12-14. … Only it appears in the Common English Bible version that I’m not really familiar with.
“12 I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. 13 My friends, I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. 14 I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.”
And in a quick second that morning, I realized that THAT was the point Professor Karoline Lewis was making to me all week. … In that moment, I recognized a crossing of the Holy Spirit and my journey, and it comforted me. … “I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me.”
And he has. Christ has taken hold of me and has been leading me on this journey here at Faith Lutheran. … Even in those moments when I’m not so sure of myself. He’s here, walking with me. Helping me find my way when I encounter a new situation, helping me find the words when I am at a loss, helping give me the resources I need when I feel stuck.
But running across this verse, on this day, while surrounded by leaders from this church reminded me that it’s not only me this verse is speaking to. … It’s speaking to all of us. I don’t know which specific goals this may apply to in your life, nor do we yet know what the specific long term goals are for Faith Lutheran either. But, I am comforted by the knowledge that Jesus is right here working on them all with us. None of us -- you, me or this congregation -- are walking this path alone. None of us are going to reach these goals by ourselves. And it’s most certainly OK that none of us are perfect. … Because Christ has taken a hold of each of us.
And he’s telling us that it’s OK to lay down that baggage each of us, and that our prize is right around the corner if we want to grasp it. ... Heaven is there and it’s easily in our reach if we just trust in our savior Jesus Christ.
And so on this Sunday morning, I encourage each of you to take heart. I don’t know what goals you are striving toward. But I do know that it’s OK for each of us to be … us. And I’m going to work harder on just being “Preacher Devlyn,” and worry a little less about being the preacher I think I’m supposed to be. … And I also hope that you can work a littler harder on you just being you too, versus the you you think the world expects you to be.
And finally, hopefully, we all can rest easy in the knowledge that each and everyone of us is a beloved child God, and no matter what this world tells us, that’s enough.
And that is the Good News for this Sunday. ... Amen.
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