Katrick: Writing to inspire through life, Jesus
When I retired from full-time pastoral ministry, colleagues and friends from our professional (peer) group in spiritual direction, presented me with a gift – a journal. In their own special way, they were repeating the advice given to me by an instructor at a journalism workshop I attended in high school. “Don’t let your head hit the pillow before writing something.”
My mother’s way of encouraging me to write frequently was by sending clippings from columnists. One of her favorites was Sydney J. Harris, who did most of his work for the Chicago Daily News and the Chicago Sun-Times.
While engaged in the never-ending process of sorting through things, and deciding what to keep or discard, I found a “keeper”. It was one of Harris’s works entitled, “Sermon No Easy Task.”
Harris writes, “I am always flattered to receive a note from clergy that a column of mine was used as the springboard for a sermon.” He goes on to say, “that no pastoral task is harder than composing a weekly sermon that is lively without being trivial, and solid without being dull.”
The purpose of preaching is to challenge peoples’ assumptions about themselves and their ways of life, (and) to become more reasonable and loving creatures of God.
As a preacher and a writer, I find Harris’s words to be not only inspirational, but practical. My “job” is to capture your attention with an economy of spoken and written words, that guide and inspire you to do as Jack Nicholson’s character, Melvin Udall, says in the movie, As Good as it Gets. Be a “better person”.
To that effect, Harris describes religion as “a way of thinking, as well as of feeling, an idea as much as an emotion.” A church member once advised me to, “not be afraid to open up and let my hair down.”
A friend, mentor and colleague of mine was like that. His sermons were passionate and anything but trivial and dull. He was even known to pound the pulpit on occasion, and was always ready and willing to share thoughts and feelings from his life experiences.
So here’s what I’m thinking and feeling. If you want to get peoples’ attention with written or spoken words, guide and inspire them to be better people. Speak freely about your life experiences, and how you were changed and transformed by them.
And do this with the understanding that the best opportunities to become more reasonable and loving creatures of God, are when assumptions about ourselves are being challenged and we’re feeling weak and vulnerable.
Then give it over to the best preacher and teacher of all time. Jesus Christ is always trying to get your attention. So let his amazing, saving grace go to work to change and transform you into the person he wants and needs you to be.
Mark Katrick is a pastor and spiritual director.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Katrick: Writing to inspire through life, Jesus
