Why Sermons?

Why sermons? That’s a word that makes lots of people uneasy.

I get it. And yet, for reasons I can’t quite explain, writing sermons was something I had to do. So I wrote one a week for a year, from March 2021 to March 2022.

It’s not like you have a congregation.

True. But I have things to say, and this was a fun way to say them. I’ve sat in church for five decades listening to other people talk. This was my way of joining the conversation.

So who are you writing for?

Anyone who’s interested in feeling their way around big questions.

How does that work?

I invite people to read the sermons, by themselves, in teams, whatever works. I present them in parties at my home, where people read the words they way they want to. Sometimes in costumes, while standing on my coffee table, while a piano player thumps along.

Why do you call them “Standup Sermons?”

Because a sense of humor is essential to faith, and because you don’t have to be sitting silently in a church pew to explore this stuff. You can be with other people in a setting that encourages serious playfulness.

You quote bible verses. How did you choose them?

I used the lectionary, that pre-selected menu of daily Christian readings. Every Sunday, I picked from the allotted bible passages for that day. Then I jumbled those readings up with other tidbits. Movies, books, conversations, experiences—I tossed them together till I had a sermon. Now I’m inviting readers to toss everything around some more.

Sounds like a strange way for a non-preacher to spend time.

I agree. But you know how it goes when life offers us an invitation: we can ignore it or walk through the door after it. This time, I walked through the door.