If a Tree Falls

by Pastor Marty

I like preaching!

Fussing with the text throughout the week. Sunday morning arrives. It is a holy and sacred event when the preached word is picked up by the community of faith. One does not know where it will go…. The Holy Spirit has this impressive resume of working in and with and through the hearts and minds of people. One Sunday, someone said to me as they were leaving church, “Great message this morning, Pastor.” A wonderful compliment, but I did not preach that morning. My colleague did. The message, for this person, made a sound.

I like preaching! Engaging people. Seeing their face. Picking up the energy in the room is filled with joy and delight. The more people in the room the more comfortable I become. So, this past year has been strange. Preaching to an empty room during this pandemic season has become routine. One word – awkward! Instead of people, a couple of cameras. I feel, at times, trapped in an echo chamber. The nervousness of preaching in my younger years has stormed back as I stare at these sterile, seemingly unforgiving cameras. I feel like I am talking to myself. If a preacher preaches a sermon and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Yes. By faith, yes! We have statistics from our online platforms that confirm that people are engaging in worship through FLC from around the world. Praise the Lord! I cannot see them…but they are out there…somewhere. I accept that…by faith alone!

Let’s turn the situation around. Let’s say that you are the preacher. If a preacher preaches a sermon and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Sometimes, I hear this faint noise upstairs in our house. I move a little closer. What is that? No one is upstairs except my young daughter. I climb the steps. I quietly move to a place where I can hear. She is talking or singing and being a kid. She believes that no one is listening. Wrong! I am listening…and smiling as a kid is being a kid! Music to my ears.

People are watching you. The cameras of life are rolling. People are listening to you…when you least expect it. Your voice has power for others who you might not ever meet. Your words make a difference…even for those who you do not know. You matter; along with your words and your voice on this stage called life. People are watching and listening to you. If that is hard to believe, I invite you to accept it…by faith alone! In the words of the Apostle Paul, keep talking, “How are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? ¹⁵ And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”  ¹⁷ So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. Romans 8

-- Pastor Marty

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