For me to preach is first
of all to immerse myself in the word of God, to look inside every
sentence and underneath every phrase for the layers of meaning that have
accumulated there over the centuries. It is to examine my own life and
the life of the congregation with the same care, hunting the connections
between the word on the page and the word at work in the world. It is to
find my own words for bringing those connections to life, so that others
can experience them for themselves. When that happens -- when the act of
preaching becomes a source of revelation for me as well as for those who
listen to me -- then the good news every sermon proclaims is that the
God who acted is the God who acts, and that the Holy Spirit is alive and
well in the world.
----Barbara Brown Taylor in, "The Preaching Life,"
Boston: Cowley Publications, 1993. Page 32
