Good News in Bad Times
A few months ago I awoke to a typically rainy and gray Pacific Northwest November morning. The flapping butterflies in my stomach took up so much room that I could not fit in any breakfast. I had not felt so nervous about standing in front of a congregation since 2001 when I preached my first sermon as a youth intern.
In the past seven years since my first sermon, I have preached around 500 times. This is not much compared to many of my brothers and sisters, but it is plenty for a 31-year-old minister. Although I used to be nervous every time I got up to preach, I no longer feel nervous. Usually, I feel joyful anticipation of sharing the Good News.
However, on that November morning I was not particularly eager to preach this Good News. I wasn't having a ministry crisis nor doubting God's power. Instead, I was having a hard time accepting the reason for the gathering. That cold morning I would share Scripture and reflection at the funeral of my 90-year-old grandmother, Violet Christene Olson.
As a pastor, part of my job is to officiate at funerals and I have often stood amid the grief of families, friends, and the faith community to proclaim that the dead in Christ have gone from life to Life. But as a granddaughter, I found this message difficult to present.
Standing to read one of my grandmother's favorite passages from her Bible, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, my heart began to swell with joy and hope. The words spoke straight to my spirit: 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing' (NRSV).
As I read those words and reflected on my grandmother's life of faith to those who had gathered, my sadness was washed away in the celebration that my grandma had faithfully finished the race.
Often, the Good News transforms us as we proclaim it. I was so blessed to be the one to stand up, with tears in my eyes, and proclaim that hope is not lost, and death has no victory.
This is part of the life of a preacher—a real person who prays just as hard as the next person that tragedy will not happen. Yet that person must stand up amid whatever is going on and preach the Good News.
Whether or not we agree with the circumstances of life, the Good News remains steadfast and sure. What a tremendous blessing to get to share the Truth on days when we must choke back tears, as well as on days when we can shout it with joy.
Bethany Hull Somers is lead pastor of the Mt. Vernon, Washington, Church of the Nazarene.
Holiness Today, 2009
Please Note: This article was originally written in 2009. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication but may have since changed.
