I hope to do more reflecting from time to time about the Sunday's sermons and/or the experience of worship from the perspective of the pulpit. So, I begin this week out of a concern of several of the comments that were spoken to me directly or indirectly in response to the message.
Throughout the month of June, I've been going off lectionary to tackle a little known or preached on Old Testament book, Nehemiah. I made this choice for two reasons 1) I don't believe that the lectionary are the only path for preaching, especially during ordinary time (which is now) 2) Our church is in the middle of a Capital Campaign to raise necessary funds to make some crucial repairs to our building. One part of these repairs will be restoration of the exterior bricks which are leaking water into our building every time it rains. It seemed like a perfect scriptural parallel to study Nehemiah's wall building while we sought to re-build our own!
This week, was the fourth installment of Nehemiah, and this was our lection:
Nehemiah 6:1-8, 13
1 When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates- 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono." But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?" 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer. 5 Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter 6 in which was written: "It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: 'There is a king in Judah!' Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us confer together." 8 I sent him this reply: "Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head."13 He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.
The sermon was called: "When the Attacks Become Personal" and centered our attention on what happens when growth and new things begin to take root in your community of faith (which is us right now).
In the case of Nehemiah, what happened to him at this juncture was personal attacks from his enemies. They saw no other way to gain control but to begin to speak slander about him.
Several people asked me after the sermon, what I was referring to? Had this happened to me? Was something wrong at the church that they needed to know about?
I understand the tone of their concern because often many preachers air concerns or ill feelings about a congregation without just coming out and saying them. But, such was not my intent at all, for I am not that type of pastor. I was just preaching the text.
But, yes, I've had personal experience with personal attack in a variety of settings (even though many of you think I might be too young to have), just like many pastors and other leaders in corporate settings too who are working toward organizational change. It is just a part of the human experience! We all can relate to times when those who don't like us speak untruths about us in order to "get their way."
Above all, I wanted to proclaim the reality that if we follow after the ways of God, there are some times when the path of faith will become rocky. It might become so rocky in fact, that those who do not like us can do nothing more than lie. Yet, the HOPE we have as people of faith that even in the midst of difficult personal trials, God is with us and does not take orders from those who are not walking in the light.
This is good news to help us all make it through another week! As always, I love to dialogue about sermons, so shoot me an email or come by to see me if you want to chat more.
