Each year in January we have a pulpit exchange amongst our local churches in which it is not the pulpits themselves but their occupants who travel to other churches to preach. So I found myself in one of the nearby Baptist Churches for a change. I was given the passage Matthew 12:15-21 and found myself immediately drawn to the verse "a smouldering wick he will not snuff out." This led to thoughts about the gentler side of Jesus - he withdrew from danger (the Pharisees planned to kill him) and warned those he healed to say nothing. In this passage he shows caution, discretion and tenderness.
As the worship progressed I started to worry. Here was a church full of praise for the power and glory of God, eager to hear stories of healing and answered prayer, vibrantly alive and enthusiastic in their discipleship. And I was planning to tell them to be sensitive to others, to withdraw from conflict, to downplay the miraculous, to listen rather than speak, to be gentle rather than powerful, to consider shutting up, backing off and leaving well alone. If I had another sermon up my sleeve I would have been very tempted to go with it, but I hadn't. So after an hour of worship it was my turn. I couldn't have had a warmer welcome. I began my allotted 25 minutes of preaching the word (it turned out to be nearer 30 even though I tried to abbreviate the last section and felt that I rather stumbled towards a conclusion instead of ending with a bang) and watched nervously as one person clutched his head in his hands (despairing of my heresy?). Another was busy taking notes on his palm pilot which made me wonder whether my words were really worth recording. I finished. I sat down.
After the service I was overwhelmed by the number of people who thanked me for the appropriateness of my message. "Thank you for addressing my personal needs" was a typical comment. Even the Baptist minister (a mature Christian for whom I have great respect - he had done his preaching exchange last night at the Catholic church) seemed moved by the message. As I was leaving he confided in me certain issues he was dealing with and how God had used my sermon to calm him down and change his attitude. He went smoothly from telling me this to praying. So we stood together for a few moments outside the church door, looking out across the community and we prayed for one another.
That wave of the Spirit is still buoying up my life it seems. And so far I'm managing to stay on my surfboard!
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