There is the ideal world, and then there is the real world – let’s be honest. I n an ideal world, I will read through the texts set for the following Sunday on Monday or Tuesday ahead of the Sunday. We use three readings – plus the Collect and Post-Communion Prayer – as set for the day. There will be initial thoughts that come to mind – linking with previous sermons or church magazine articles perhaps, as well as with items in the news. I may write these initial thoughts down, but usually I let them drift and whirl as the days pass by – seeing what else comes to mind as other things take place in the life of the church – as well as in my own life, the world and our local community.
By the time I come to sit down (hopefully on a Thursday afternoon), I will have some idea of where I am going to begin, and where I think I may end up. I did try for a while to note down a beginning, middle and end for sermons – but it isn’t a process of preparation that has stuck and I often find that, even when I think I know where I am going to begin and end, the beginning is jettisoned, the end somehow makes its way to the middle – and I am surprised by where the Holy Spirit has led me to as a conclusion!
