A Good Sermon

One day in Bible class a pastor said, “There’s a sermon in every blade of grass.” Every verse of the Bible, in other words, has a message for us. Later that day he was out mowing the lawn in front of the parsonage when a member drove by. The member good-naturedly shouted out the window, “That’s right, Pastor, keep those blades of grass nice and short.” 

Lots of people have lots of ideas about preaching. I wasn’t in the parish long when a frequent visitor was talking to me and some of our members after God’s service. She kindly commented, “Pastor, I really like your sermons. I wish they were longer, though.” The members got a nervous look, smiled, and said, “Oh no, Pastor, your sermons are just right.”

Some preachers have difficulty getting their noses out of their manuscripts, while others would benefit by sticking to these a bit more. Some have talking hands, others concrete arms. There are all kinds of preachers, but for all that goes into public speaking, only one thing makes a sermon good. 

Mark starts with what matters most: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” And doesn’t that sum up John’s ministry? He gave us, after all, the words we sing before the incarnate Christ comes to us in the sacrament: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” That’s not a bad sermon. 

Think of John out there by the muddy Jordan in camel’s hair and a leather belt, preaching the same sermon day after day, short and sweet and yet powerful: “Repent,” he preached, but don’t just repent. “Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.” Baptism, like all preaching, is for forgiveness. “Repent, and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins,” That’s what God wants to give you: forgiveness. 

John preached the same sermon again and again with great success, and yet the humility in his message is striking. He had the whole country of Judea coming out to him. The statistical report for his ministry was off the charts. He could have written a book or started a podcast with numbers like that. And yet, it wasn’t about John. John was just John. It was Christ who turned sinners into saints in the muddy waters of the Jordan.

“All the country of Judea and Jerusalem were going out to him.” And John had the same message for all of them: repent, be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and look to Christ. There is no mention of a joke about blades of grass or a witty theme of any attempt to cater to any particular generation or demographic. John knew his talking points and stuck to them. He didn’t have to make the good news good or sell it. It was free of charge for those who had nothing to bring. Rich and poor, young and old, educated and unlearned, Pharisee and sinner, hypocrite and sincere believer, each got the same message because each needed the same message, no matter how impressive or hopeless things seemed on the surface: repent, be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and look to Christ. 

The church is called to preach good news, not to make news good or to find new news to share. The church is called to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. Where is that message found? In every blade of grass, on every page of Scripture. 

Should a sermon be long or short? Should a preacher gesture or not? Should he use jokes or avoid them? Those are good questions, but none of those things make a good sermon. They might make better speakers, but hungry and thirsty sinners know a good sermon when they hear it, because it has what the world doesn’t: the good news. Make that your standard for preachers, and ask the Spirit to tune your ears to gladly hear and learn, for while the message may be old, it never gets old. Forgiveness is new every morning.