Throughout my undergraduate and graduate education, we learned the art of exegesis. Exegesis is often defined as the “critical explanation, analysis, or interpretation of a text to discover its original, intended meaning.” When preaching and teaching, exegesis helps us stay true to the text and consider what it has to say to us in our modern lives and world.
But it wasn’t until seminary that one of my preaching professors shared with us the importance of exegeting our preaching context. My professor, the Rev. Dr. Teresa Fry-Brown, taught us that knowing our preaching audience—who they are, where they are in their lives, and where the collective body finds itself in the life of the church and the world—is also a critical task for the preacher to tend to as they prepare for the preaching moment.
Whether you find yourself dismayed, hopeful, confused, joyful, or a mix of anything and everything, Sunday is coming, and our weekly rhythm of worship reminds us that good news is on the way! The election results shape the world in which we live and the context in which we serve, and our commitment to being a people formed in the light and love of Christ continues. Wherever you find yourself, you are so loved here.
I have found myself particularly grateful for Paul and his letter to the Philippians this season. I hope it is meeting you as a gift as well. Paul’s love for the Philippians is so beautiful it has brought me to tears.
This Sunday’s Scripture is at the heart of Paul’s letter. In it, we find a beautiful hymn from the early church that recounts the life of Jesus Christ and the humility he embodied as the Son of God and Lord of all. As we worship together, we will consider how humility shapes us as God’s people and how, from a posture of humility, joy will continue to meet us.
Blessings,
Pastor Jayde
