I am stranded in Turkey by a volcano in Iceland. Which is something I never really expected to happen to me. With lots of thinking time. Sitting by the sea has made me wonder if the sermons of preachers who sit by the sea are different to those who sit in a study.

Stick with the thought for a moment. Jesus did narrative and parables brilliantly. I don't. There are some pretty clear reasons why I can't preach like him (!) but I wonder if one unnecessary one is that I don't spend time watching and thinking about the every day world like he did.

I spend my time pouring over the bible text, often on my own, almost always indoors. Now I am not about to stop doing that, but I wonder if I don't sometimes get the balance wrong. What would be gained if I spent some of that prep time looking at the sea (or whatever else)? Probably the first thing that would happen is that I would guilt trip that it wasn't an appropriate way for a responsible Christian leader to spend time. What about hard work? How would I justify the seeming inactivity to my people who work hard in the office? Would I just look like a waste of space? Would I be a waste of space?

Or would it root and ground me in some reality outside my norms with helpful consequences for my preaching?

I don't know. But I do know that watching the sea has suggested several parables (or musings anyway) which is out of the usual for me. I will share them in following posts. Let me know what you think.