Every Saturday night I sit down to finish writing a sermon.
Usually, something that's been stirring in me throughout the week. An observation. A question. An insight. A realization that feels worth exploring together.
This week has certainly given me plenty to think about. But not everything that occupies our minds is ready to be shared. Sometimes life gives us experiences before it gives us understanding.
There is a temptation—especially for those who teach, preach, write, or lead—to believe we should always have an answer. That every difficult experience should immediately become a lesson. That every struggle should be neatly packaged into something inspiring by Sunday morning.
I don’t believe that’s true. I think some truths require time. Some questions deserve to remain questions for a while. Some experiences need to be lived before they can be understood.
And some weeks, the most honest thing I can say is simply: “I don’t know yet.”
The Hebrew Scriptures contain wisdom, instruction, poetry, lament, celebration, and wrestling. Not every page resolves the tension. Sometimes the struggle itself is what is preserved.
So this morning, rather than forcing words that I have not yet earned, I am choosing silence over pretense. Not because I have nothing to think about. Quite the opposite. Because I have too much.
If HumanityOne stands for anything, I hope it stands for an honest pursuit of truth. And honesty sometimes means admitting that understanding has not yet caught up with experience.
I suspect there will eventually be a sermon born from this week. But it isn’t ready yet. Some truths ripen slowly. I’d rather offer you an honest silence than a premature certainty.
Perhaps that, too, is part of the human condition. So this week all I have for you is to say
Shavua tov u’mevorach- wishing you a “good and blessed week”
Amen
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