Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or so they say. I sincerely like the Bishop of North Carolina, Michael Curry, whom I quoted in Sunday’s sermon. When working on sermons my process is to familiarize myself with the readings and then begin reading commentaries and researching context for the sermon. Sometimes I get an idea – a picture in my head, or a story that I like, or sometimes even the final sentence. Once I have it, I am off and running. Sometimes the process is very linear, and sometimes it’s all over the place.

Somewhere in my All Saints sermon preparation

I found a reference to Jesus thinking differently in the Sermon on the Mount and made a leap to the Think Different campaign they used; I was off and running. As I wrote about saints being a different sort of person I remembered Bishop Curry’s words at General Convention and the book he wrote to build upon the success of that sermon – basically calling for more crazy, different Christians in the world.

I found the quote from Bishop Curry on Amazon’s review of his book, including it in my sermon, but did not go back to read the entire sermon. Then, in the middle of the 9:15 service, my long-term memory kicked in and I wondered if Bishop Curry had not also used Apple’s Think Different campaign in his sermon? So, on Monday I went back and found the sermon online, and indeed he did. Now, my sermon is my sermon, but Bishop Curry’s contains the same Apple quote, as well as a reference to both the All Saints feast day and a non-referenced referral to the Beatitudes that we heard on Sunday. Even though I quoted from Bishop Curry, I didn’t even realize that the thread that I wove through my sermon was lodged in my memory from his sermon! As I worked on the Beatitudes and hit on the Apple advertising, of course I would end up thinking of Bishop Curry’s sermon. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

While preachers borrow from each other all the time, it’s best to give credit where credit is due. One of the problems we preachers have is in situations like this one, where we once heard or read something that lodged in our brain, but for which we have no citation or reference to its origin. Sometimes we even think our ideas are original! (gasp!) In this case, Bishop Curry’s sermon settled in so deeply that I didn’t even remember the details. At the end of the day, his sermon was on Harriet Beecher Stowe, the saint we remembered at that July Eucharist, and yet my hunch is that he wove in a previous All Saints sermon for that occasion. (We preachers are known to recycle too!)

I’m telling you all of this for two reasons: First, because so many commented so kindly on the sermon, and having realized the overlap, Bishop Curry needs even more of a nod than I gave him on Sunday! But chiefly, I am telling you this so that I can pass along Bishop Curry’s sermon and even his book; the world DOES need more crazy Christians. You can read the text HERE and you can watch the sermon on YouTube HERE. I think you will find it inspiring, like the thousands at the Convention Eucharist did, rising to their feet at the end of it. If you’re interested in his book, go HERE.

Be crazier, Christians!

Tom

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.