First time Preaching!

Today I have found out the first day that I will preach. It will be on December 27th and I am very excited for this. I am not sure that there is a day, other than my Wedding, that I have looked forward to more. And now with the vote of confidence from my Pastor I will take a crack at the pulpit for the very first time.

I am very traditional in the way that I am going to approach this. Growing up in the Catholic Church, I feel strongly about using the Lectionary. In addition, I think it is important to use more than one of the readings. The readings have been placed together for a reason and can bring great insight to each other.

The passages that will fall on that Sunday are 1 Samuel 2: 18-20, 26; Luke 2: 41-52; and Colossians 3:12-17. When I agreed and this date came up I was very nervous because of the Christmas season. Many of the stories used at this time are so familiar to people that it is difficult to approach in a non cliche way. The great ones can do it, but this is my first shot!

Then when I saw Samuel I was intrigued. There are not two books in the Bible that I have studied more than Samuel and Luke. These I know. These I feel comfortable with. These I feel like I can help open a window to God's truth for those in attendance.

I started reading the Samuel and Luke readings and started to notice the themes from past discussions coming alive again. The basic parallels were obvious as both stories are around the temple and young boys teaching and being taught there. Both stories have parents coming to visit/find their children in the temple. Both Samuel and Jesus' mothers sing, now famous, songs to the LORD. It is painfully obvious at why these passages are paired together in the lectionary.

Starting to daydream, I thought of jokes I could make about how Jesus' parents could not find him. "How many of us have lost children...for three days!?" The thought crossed my mind of why would they have left the town without their son. Surely a parent would notice the absence of their child. In searching the text for the answer a verse jumped out at me. "They began looking for him among their relatives and friends" (v 44). Jesus was not raised by a nuclear family. He was a part of the community. He taught the community. The community ministered, cared for, and blessed him.

The connection to communal living as Samuel experienced, is now on the forefront of my thoughts regarding these readings. I am thrilled to see where this will take me over the next few months as I ponder the meanings, connections, and truth in these scripture.