Ever wonder what a pastor does? If you ask me, I’ll be hard press for words. Some times I feel like I am an event organizer, a counselor, an administrator, a bible teacher… all rolled into one. But there are moments in my busy schedule when I experience something more, something profound; moments when I find myself a channel of God’s grace.
It was one of those moments one Sunday evening in Feb. I had a very full work week, had to preach a sermon, chair a meeting, lead training and bible study... then my senior pastor asked me to preach a funeral sermon on Sunday evening. I’m a fairly new preacher (2 and ½ years) and this was my second funeral sermon. I don’t know the family at all, so that makes it very tricky. Moreover there wasn’t any time to prepare. Nevertheless I started praying about it, asking God to reveal to me which bible passage to preach from. I sensed God wanting me to preach on the resurrection of Lazarus. Now to me, that is a very strange passage to choose for a funeral sermon, because although the passage began as a funeral, the deceased end up coming alive and walking out of his tomb! I wonder, what could God possibly want me to say to a grieving family from this passage? So I tried looking up the bible for more ‘appropriate’ passages for funeral sermon amid my hectic work week, but to no avail.
By Sunday late afternoon, I finally had a chance to talk to a sister who knew the family. It was then that I understood why God wanted me to preach on Lazarus’ resurrection. Martha and Mary thought if only Jesus were there earlier, their brother Lazarus would not die. They knew Jesus loved them. They fully believed Jesus is able to heal. They trusted Jesus. But they could not understand why Jesus did not heal their brother. Such was the struggle of this family too. They had a dramatic experience of Jesus’ healing. But this time round, though they prayed, God did not heal. Although they were able to accept their lost and rest in God, a nagging ‘why’ remained in their hearts.
That evening, standing before the family, I had the privilege to be God’s vessel, to bring God’s message of comfort to this family. I saw how they were touched by God. When I sat down after delivering the sermon, I knew in my heart, those were not my words, but God’s.
It is in these moments that I am reminded; being a pastor means I am a servant of the Almighty
Pr. Neo Lai Kein
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
what a wonderful testimony! Even though Lazarus was raised from the dead once, he had to die twice, when his time was up long after his resurrection. His resurrection brings testimony to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It brings hope to the two sisters. Indeed, we are God's vessel of His grace!
Post a Comment