And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." Luke 12:11–12 (RSV)
Students at a Lutheran Seminary study a wide range of topics as they prepare for ordination. Homiletics is a crucial component of preparation for parish ministry. Homiletics is the study of preaching. Preaching is more than arriving at the church on any given Sunday, getting into the pulpit, and delivering a sermon. The rule of thumb we were told in class that there should be an hour of preparation for every minute of a sermon preached.
I do not know of any pastor who does not take preaching seriously. Some may be more gifted than others, but even the least competent still strives to deliver a faithful sermon. Indeed, as Lutherans, preaching is high on the list of pastoral skills we expect to see in someone called to the ordained ministry.
As we studied and practiced giving sermons to our classmates, we gained skills, polished our delivery, and learn what made a sermon useful. Like every other skill that we develop in life, we learn from our successes and failures. It was quite affirming to hear the professor and classmates say positive things. It wasn't easy to listen to the critiques, but they were often more useful than praise.
We also learned what a colleague called the 'agony and ecstasy' of preaching. There will be Sundays when no matter how hard you study and prepare, the words just will not come together. Those are the Sundays when you want to get through the 'sermon', praying that most of the congregation is sleeping.
When I feel like this, I am reminded of one classmate who, upon taking his turn to preach to us, got up, looked at his notes, looked at us, and said, 'I tried to make this work, but nothing came together. I have nothing to say today, save I know Jesus loves me.' He returned to his chair, staring down at the tabletop.
We waited for the instructor, a homiletics professor, to comment. After a moment, he said, 'The content was excellent, though it was shorter than I would prefer.' After a hearty laugh, he went on to talk about preaching in season and out. 'You will have Sundays when it just doesn't work, no matter how hard you have tried. Remember, you do not enter the pulpit alone; the Holy Spirit is with you.'
It was probably the most useful sermon I heard in homiletics. Useful for the lesson that the Holy Spirit is at work as we prepare and preach. The Spirit guides our study, going with us as we enter the pulpit to preach. The Spirit is also at work in those who are listening. The Word proclaimed can, and does, connecting in surprising ways in those who hear the Word.
Thank God for Christian preaching where the Gospel is faithfully proclaimed and the hearts of those who hear receive the Father's mercy by His Word.