After the Sermon

"He said no more, but slowly waving a benediction, covered his face with his hands, and so remained kneeling, till all the people had departed, and he was left alone in the place."

This is what Father Mapple, in Moby Dick, did after preaching a sermon on Jonah. He was so overwhelmed by the awesomeness of the moment that he just waved the parishioners away and knelt before God.

There is a certain heaviness that accompanies preaching. Most preachers have experienced it. It's like an awesome weight of inadequacy, but it feels glorious. To be allowed to stand before men and women, with all your imperfections, and apply the word of God to the ears of the listeners is a blessed burden.

I have felt the heaviness before.. I pray I feel it every time I say the "Amen." I pray that I never feel as if it's "just another sermon."