우리 학교는 수요일 오후에 정기적으로 예배를 드립니다. 요즈음은 비대면 수업이라 학생들은 영상으로 참석하고, 매일 출근하는 교수들과 직원들, 그리고 갈데가 없어서 기숙사에 지내는 선교사 부부가 예배실인 넓은 강당에서 대면예배를 드리고 있습니다. 그런데 지난 수요예배 후에 현장에서 예배드린 선교사님 한 분이 조용히 물었습니다. “요즘 학교에 무슨 일이 있으세요” 학교에 무슨 힘든 상황이 있어서 설교의 톤이 높아진 것은 아니냐는 의도가 담긴 질문입니다. “특별한 일은 없는데요”라고 답했습니다. 그런데 며칠 뒤 또 다른 목사님을 만났는데 “요즈음 설교가 점점 강해지고 있는데 무슨 일이 있습니까?”라고 비슷한 질문을 했습니다. “아뇨, 과거 어느 때보다 에스라 호는 순항을 하고 있습니다”라고 답을 하면서 생각을 해 보게 되었습니다.
물론 본문 때문일 수도 있습니다. 비대면으로 2학기를 시작하면서 이사야 40장을 본문으로 몇 차례 설교를 하고 있습니다. 지난 여름에도 이사야 40장부터 매일성경 본문이 시작했는데 이전에 처음 40장을 만난 것도 묵상본문 때문이었습니다. 사진을 찍는 분이라면 멋있는 풍경을 두고 그냥 지나갈 수 없을 것이고 낚시를 좋아하는 분이라면 고기가 잘 무는 포인트를 지나칠 수 없듯이 저는 이사야 40장을 그냥 묵상 본문만으로 지나갈 수가 없었습니다. 그래서 이사야서 40장으로 다섯 편의 연속 설교를 하게 되었고 그 때 처음 설교자 이사야를 만난 셈입니다. 그리고 여러 교회에서 말씀을 전할 기회가 오면 수 없이 반복해서 그 말씀을 전하다가, 이번 가을에는 에스라성경대학원대학교 수요예배에서 또 다시 전하고 있습니다. 이사야 40장은 아직도 제게 은혜가 되는 말씀이기 때문입니다.
하지만 다시 생각해 보니 또 하나의 이유가 기억났습니다. 제게는 그것이 더 설득력있게 다가왔습니다. 그것은 내년 도서출판 두란노에서 누가복음 강해설교 전집 출판을 위해서 설교원고를 손질한다고 하루에 다섯 편 정도를 매일 읽고 있다는 사실입니다. 현역으로 목회를 하고 있을 때도, 어느 교회에서 사경회를 인도하고 나면 주일 설교가 더 힘이 있었던 것을 기억합니다. 며칠동안 연속해서 몇 차례 말씀을 전하다보면, 전하기만 하는 것이 아니라 제 자신이 그 말씀을 듣습니다. 그뿐 아니라 어떤 청중보다 더 잘 듣기 때문에 그 말씀이 주는 은혜를 누리게 됩니다. 그리하여 그 영향이 다가온 주일설교까지 미쳤던 것을 떠올려보니, 요즈음 누가복음 첫 설교집, 1장에서 3장까지, 39편의 설교를 집중적으로 읽다보니, 말씀의 은혜를 맛본 결과가 에스라 수요예배에 그 영향이 나타나는 것이 아닌가 하는 생각이 들었습니다.
그렇습니다. 우리 신앙의 선배들은 은혜를 받는 방편으로 무엇보다 먼저 말씀과 성례, 그리고 기도를 손꼽았던 것 같습니다. 그런데 세상이 변해서 더 이상 말씀을 듣거나 읽고 은혜를 받는 것이 아니라, 영상을 보고 감동을 하는 세대라, 출판을 위한 설교문을 손질하다가도, 때론 회의감 내지 자괴감이 들기도 합니다. 그래서 마음속에서 저절로 기도가 나옵니다. 선하신 주님의 은혜로 책이 잘 출판되면 성도들의 마음이 움직여져서 설교집을 읽도록 하시고, 읽으면서 저처럼 은혜를 받게 되길 바랍니다. 이미 죠이북스에서 나온 <읽는 설교 야고보서>와 <읽는 설교 요한계시록>에 이어서 누가복음 전체를 다섯 권으로 나올 때에 성도들의 손에 읽히는 기적을 바라고 있습니다. 우선 각권 제목으로 1 <구원사의 서곡> 2 <사역의 시작> 3 <갈릴리사역> 4 <예루살렘으로> 5 <구원사의 완성>이라고 생각하고 있습니다. 몸은 무엇을 먹느냐와 관련이 있듯이, 우리의 영혼은 무엇을 듣는가 혹은 읽는가와 밀접한 관련을 갖습니다.
Our school holds a regular chapel service every Wednesday afternoon. These days, with classes being held remotely, students attend online via video stream, while the faculty and staff who commute daily, along with a missionary couple staying in the dormitory with nowhere else to go, worship together in person in the spacious auditorium chapel. Last Wednesday, however, after the service, one of the missionaries who attended in person asked me quietly, "Is something going on at the school lately?" It was an inquiry carrying the gentle concern of whether some difficult situation had arisen, causing the tone of my preaching to become more impassioned and intense. I replied, "No, nothing in particular." But a few days later, I met another pastor who asked a remarkably similar question: "Your sermons have been sounding increasingly intense lately—is something going on?" Answering, "No, the good ship Ezra is sailing more smoothly than ever," I began to reflect thoughtfully on why this might be.
Of course, it could well be because of the preaching text. As we began the second semester online, I have been delivering a series of messages based on Isaiah 40. This past summer, the Daily Bible reading plan happened to start with Isaiah 40, which was also the very passage through which I first encountered chapter 40 years ago during my personal devotions. Just as a photographer cannot simply walk past a breathtaking landscape, or an avid angler cannot pass by a promising fishing spot, I simply could not treat Isaiah 40 merely as a quiet-time passage and move on. Thus, I ended up preaching a five-part sermon series on Isaiah 40, which was when I truly met Isaiah the preacher for the first time. Whenever opportunities arose to share the Word at various churches, I repeatedly preached on that passage, and this autumn, I find myself preaching it once more during Wednesday chapels at Ezra Bible Graduate University. Isaiah 40 remains an enduring fountain of grace for my soul.
Yet on second thought, another reason came to mind—one that felt even more persuasive to me. It is the fact that I am currently reading through about five sermon manuscripts a day, editing and polishing them for the complete series of expository sermons on the Gospel of Luke to be published next year by Duranno Publishing. Even back when I was serving in active pastoral ministry, I remember that my Sunday sermons were always noticeably more powerful after leading a Bible conference or spiritual retreat at another church. When preaching multiple messages consecutively over several days, one does not merely deliver the Word; one truly listens to it oneself. Moreover, because the preacher listens with greater intensity than anyone else in the audience, he deeply partakes of the grace conveyed by that Word. Remembering how that spiritual momentum always spilled over into the following Sunday's pulpit, I realized that immersing myself intensely in the first volume of the Luke sermons—covering chapters 1 through 3 across thirty-nine sermons—and tasting the richness of that Word is likely what has been naturally overflowing into our Ezra Wednesday chapels.
Indeed, our spiritual forebears always counted the Word, the sacraments, and prayer as the foremost means of receiving grace. Yet the times have changed, and ours is a generation moved more by watching video clips on screens than by listening to or reading the Word of God. As I sit editing sermon manuscripts for publication, feelings of skepticism or self-doubt occasionally creep in. When that happens, a heartfelt prayer rises spontaneously within me: may the gracious Lord allow these books to be well published, move the hearts of believers to read these collected sermons, and grant that through reading them, they may experience the very same grace I have tasted. Following Sermons for Reading: James and Sermons for Reading: Revelation, previously published by Joy Books, my earnest hope is that the upcoming five-volume set on the entire Gospel of Luke will work a small miracle and find its way into the hands and hearts of faithful readers. For now, I envision the titles of each volume as: 1. Prelude to Redemptive History, 2. The Beginning of Ministry, 3. The Galilean Ministry, 4. Toward Jerusalem, and 5. The Consummation of Redemptive History. Just as the health of our physical body depends on what we eat, the vitality of our soul is intimately bound to what we hear and read.
Ons universiteit hou gereeld elke Woensdagmiddag 'n kapeldiens. Deesdae, met die klasse wat aanlyn aangebied word, woon studente die diens via 'n videoverbinding by, terwyl die dosente en personeel wat daagliks aanmeld, tesame met 'n sendelingegpaar wat in die koshuis tuisgaan omdat hulle nêrens anders heen kan gaan nie, die erediens fisies in die ruim ouditorium bywoon. Na afloop van verlede Woensdag se diens het een van die sendelinge wat teenwoordig was my egter stilweg gevra: "Gaan daar deesdae iets by die universiteit aan?" Dit was 'n vraag met die besorgde ondertoon of daar dalk 'n moeilike beproewing heers wat veroorsaak het dat my preektoon soveel skerper en dringender geword het. Ek het geantwoord: "Nee, daar is niks buitengewoons aan die gang nie." 'n Paar dae later het ek egter 'n ander leraar ontmoet wat 'n baie soortgelyke vraag gevra het: "Jou preke klink deesdae al hoe vuriger en kragtiger—is daar dalk iets aan die gang?" Terwyl ek geantwoord het: "Nee, die goeie skip Ezra vaar gladder as ooit tevore," het dit my diep aan die dink gesit.
Natuurlik kan dit te make hê met die Skrifgedeelte self. Met die aanvang van die tweede semester aanlyn, het ek reeds verskeie kere uit Jesaja 40 gepreek. Verlede somer het die daaglikse Bybelrooster toevallig ook by Jesaja 40 begin, en dit was jare gelede juis deur stilte-oordenkings dat ek vir die eerste keer werklik met hierdie hoofstuk te doen gekry het. Net soos 'n fotograaf nie eenvoudig by 'n asemrowende landskap kan verbyloop nie, of 'n ywerige hengelaar nie 'n goeie viswatersone kan verbystap nie, kon ek Jesaja 40 nie bloot as 'n vlugtige oordenkingsteks laat vaar nie. Dit het gelei tot 'n reeks van vyf opeenvolgende preke oor Jesaja 40, en dit was toe dat ek Jesaja as prediker waarlik ontmoet het. Wanneer die geleentheid hom voorgedoen het om die Woord in verskillende gemeentes te verkondig, het ek daardie boodskap telkemale herhaal, en hierdie herfs verkondig ek dit weer tydens die Woensdag-kapeldienste by Ezra Bybelse Nagraadse Universiteit. Jesaja 40 bly immers steeds 'n onuitputlike bron van genade vir my siel.
Maar toe ek weer daaroor nadink, het 'n ander rede by my opgekom—een wat vir my nog meer oortuigend voel. Dit is die feit dat ek tans daagliks sowat vyf preekmanuskripte deurlees en skaaf ter voorbereiding van my volledige bundel verklarende preke oor die Evangelie volgens Lukas, wat aanstaande jaar deur Duranno Uitgewers gepubliseer word. Selfs in die dae van my voltydse gemeentebediening kan ek onthou dat my Sondagpreke altyd merkbaar kragtiger was nadat ek 'n Bybelkonferensie of herlewingsnaweek by 'n ander gemeente gelei het. Wanneer 'n mens oor 'n paar opeenvolgende dae herhaaldelik die Woord bedien, verkondig jy dit nie net nie; jyself luister ook intens daarna. Trouens, omdat die prediker self dieper en deurdringender as enige hoorder luister, smaak hy die ryke genade wat daardie Woord meebring. Toe ek onthou hoe daardie impak altyd oorgespoel het na die eersvolgende Sondagpreek, het ek besef dat my intense bemoeienis met die eerste bundel preke oor Lukas—hoofstukke 1 tot 3, bestaande uit 39 preke—en die genade wat ek daaruit geproe het, baie moontlik die oorsaak is van die vurigheid wat nou in die kapeldienste by Ezra weerklink.
Dit is inderdaad waar: ons geloofsvoorouers het altyd die Woord, die sakramente en die gebed as die vernaamste genademiddels beskou. Maar die wêreld het verander; ons leef in 'n geslag wat eerder bewoë raak oor 'n videogreep as om deur die luister na of lees van die Woord genade te ontvang. Terwyl ek preekmanuskripte vir publikasie redigeer, bekruip 'n gevoel van skeptisisme of selfs vertwyfeling my soms. En tog styg daar dan spontaan 'n innige gebed in my binneste op: mag die genadige Here bewerk dat hierdie boeke voorspoedig gepubliseer word, dat die harte van gelowiges aangeraak sal word om hierdie preekbundels te lees, en dat hulle, net soos ek, daardeur ryklik geseën mag word. Ná Leespreek oor Jakobus en Leespreek oor Openbaring, wat vroeër deur Joy Books verskyn het, hoop ek van harte op die wonderwerk dat hierdie vyfdelige reeks oor die hele Lukas-evangelie in die hande en harte van gelowiges sal beland. Ek beoog voorlopig die volgende titels vir die dele: 1. Voorspel tot die Heilsgeskiedenis, 2. Die Aanvang van die Bediening, 3. Die Galilese Bediening, 4. Op Pad na Jerusalem, en 5. Die Voltooiing van die Heilsgeskiedenis. Net soos ons liggaamlike welstand afhang van wat ons eet, so is ons siel ten nouste verweef met wat ons hoor en lees.