Preaching

The other day I was teaching the students about how to prepare a sermon.  One of the authors we were studying argued that we should read the text several times so that we could get a feel for the scriptures.  One of my favorite texts is found in Luke 15.  I call it the trilogy of the lost, i.e., the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.  In one of the verses it talked about the joy that one would feel in the fogiving.  I never thought about the word joy in context of the lost.  Of course, I recognized the joy one would feel in finding something: the sheep, the coin, a returned son.  However,  I pondered the meaning of the word for several blocks as I was walking to work.  Almost to school, and two block from the stairs that ascend up to my office, I noticed that a student had driven his car into the cement irrigation ditch that the residents used to use to water their gardens.  Now defunct but a hazard to those who do not pay attention, he looked frustrated as he was  calling (I suppose) someone to help him.  I stopped and we chatted for a few seconds.  He told me that he had called a friend and he would be there soonest. I suggested that he get into his car and when his friend arrived, we would push him out.  No sooner had he entered the car then his friend with his girl friend rushed over to help.  They greeted each other with the usual banter, and all laughed at his predicament.  On the count of three, his car was pushed out of the ditch and as he exited his car he high fived his friends.  He gave me a handshake and thanked me.  What struck me was the joy in that instance that he felt when his car which was stuck was released.  I could see it on his face.  He was laughing with his friends and the world was, at that moment in time, right for him.  Perhaps, that is what the scripture meant concerning the joy.   Interesting what can happen to you as you walk to school and ponder a few scriptures.  Just a Thought