Preaching is a Privilege/Sheep and Goats

I am wrestling with the sheep and the goats. For me this is one of the most haunting passages of scripture. I have spent a lot of time in the past couple of weeks thinking about this scripture and struggling with how to preach about it. Preaching is a privilege because it forces me to engage in this wrestling. It is good to spend time in conversation with scripture, and I'm not sure I would do it on my own. Preaching is also a privilege because people listen to me each time I get up there. Whereas I would like to find a more dialogical way to communicate, for now, when I have the microphone, people listen.

I'm thinking about starting a Hickory Neck blog where people could respond to the sermon. Or maybe it would be better to have a lectionary blog where people could discuss the lessons during the week leading up to them and then respond to anything that the sermon might call up for them. I'm sure this isn't a new idea, but a few people have expressed an interest in some kind of lectionary discussion group. The problem is that we can't find time in our schedule to have the class. By putting it online people could participate whenever they were available. I wonder if they would participate at all.

I've been reading the sheep and the goats in conversation with two books. One is Robert Capon's book on the parables and the other is my preaching professor, John Dally's book, Choosing the Kingdom: Missional Preaching for the Household of God. One of John's points is that the kingdom of God is not something that human beings can either contribute to or diminish. The kingdom of God is given. It is something we can "'enter,''receive,' 'inherit,' 'wait for,' and 'proclaim'" (p. 50). It is not something we can "'build,' 'build up,' 'extend,' 'establish,' and 'spread'" (p. 49). Hmmm...

I think I'm struggling with a latent theology of works righteousness that seems to be buried in me. I want to tell people how we can help bring in the kingdom of God. But that's not our job. We can't do it if we want to. Jesus in the parables does not say, "Bringing in the kingdom of God is like..." He says "The kingdom of God is like..." The kingdom of God is. Those who have eyes, see. Those who have ears, hear. I'm struggling with how to proclaim the kingdom, simply that. Proclaim the kingdom without telling people that they are responsible for building up the kingdom Proclaim the kingdom without suggesting that we sit around eating bonbons all day while God takes care of things.

I have no answers. I'll keep working on it.