The Super Saint

One of the problems with being a retired preacher is that when I listen to sermons by other preachers I can get distracted by thoughts of others ways I could have preached on that scripture. I also hear a word or phrase in the sermon that has me thinking about its meaning. Today Pastor Mike was preaching about the prodigal son from Luke. So I was really distracted and it is so hard to preach on such a familiar parable and give it a new twist. There are so many themes in that story and I have preached most of them over the years.

Today Pastor Mike honed in on the oldest son who claimed to be the perfect son who worked so hard and never disobeyed. Mike referred to him as a “Super Saint” and that set my mind to racing. I have known a lot of super saints in the churches I have served.  One was Molly a formidable woman who wielded a lot of power behind the scenes in the congregation. She would often tout the fact that she never sinned.

One Sunday the scripture was from I John1:10

“If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.”

I read that scripture several times during the sermon and Molly was fit to be tied. Her husband almost died laughing. Molly quit saying that she never sinned and for a long time she was not too happy with me. Her husband on the other hand was very happy.

Until today I had not thought of Molly the super saint in a long time.