“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.”

1st Chronicles 29:11

It was a homecoming. I was headed back to the place where I first cut my teeth. I was headed to the place where I was first formed as a pastor: St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Durham, North Carolina. They had just completed a major building renovation and I was coming to help celebrate its completion. That last time I was there I was an intern—a student pastor. I was the honored guest that came to celebrate the new building and the ongoing commitment of the congregation to forming future pastors through their internship program.

I was delighted to be invited back. Like any class reunion, I had all the weight of wanting to prove that I had made something of myself. I wanted to do well and show these wonderful people that their time, devotion, and formation of me was paying off. I wanted to show them that I had taken what they had taught me and I had continued my growth. I also wanted to prove that my sermons had drastically improved. Some of those early ones were rough, to say the least.

I stepped into the pulpit that morning to share the Word of God. I also wanted to challenge the church. We’ve all be there—we want to take care of new investments and we are risk averse in those early weeks and months. My neighbor just got a new car and he is wiping it down every night with a clothe—keeping it as new as possible. I wanted to challenge the congregation to not be risk averse with their newly renovated building. Instead, I wanted to encourage them to see the new building as a tool box for their area of the Kingdom of God. I wanted to cast a vision for using the building for the sake of the community beyond themselves.

That’s what I wanted to do….

Instead, and only God knows the reason way, I celebrated and focused far too much on the building of the new structure. But I didn’t use the word building. Before I could close my lips and swallow my words I celebrated the new building that was erected. Yup, I celebrated the erection of the new facility and the impact it was going to have on the community.

Oh how I wished I could have reeled that word back in as soon as it left my mouth. I make mistakes all the time while I’m preaching. I mispronounce words. In my own head I sometimes hear the things that come out of my mouth and I don’t like how I say it or the meaning of the words and I quickly try to correct my error with the next statement—often without anyone else knowing I’ve corrected myself mid paragraph of a sermon. Other times I misspeak and I plow forward with confidence. Not so on this day. As soon as I mentioned the word erection from the pulpit my mind decided to park the car and have a tailgate party on that thought.

Instead of moving on from my one slip up, I dove head first into the deep end. I made sure no one missed what I said. In the next 3 sentences I used every conjugation of the root word erect. I made it a verb and an adjective. It was present tense and past tense. I made it a participle. I’m pretty sure I made up new words using the same root word. And, as the words were coming out of my mouth my mind was saying other, even less appropriate words, in my head. All the while, I couldn’t move away to another thought. I—and everyone else in the sanctuary—wanted it to be over. We wanted it to stop.

Later in the worship, my former supervisor and mentor looked at me with an inquisitive look. And we both laughed. “It has taken 30 years of ministry for me to hear the word erection from the pulpit. Thanks Scott…”

Have you ever attempted to put your best foot forward only to trip over two left feet instead?

I tell this story regularly when I’m with a group of people and we are asked to share embarrassing stories. I still feel my cheeks getting flushed as I think of it. And, I can’t help but laugh at myself. So much for trying to prove that I had made something of myself on that fateful homecoming date. In case you are wondering, I haven’t been invited back. Ha!

Yesterday was the celebration of the Transfiguration of our Lord. On top of the mountain Jesus was revealed in all of His glory. And Peter wanted to stay there. He wanted to camp out in the presence of the Lord’s glory. It’s just like Peter (and just like you and me) to take a portion of the Jesus story and make it all about us.

Without fail, any time in my life when I have tried to get the glory I fall flat on my face. I get stuck on embarrassing words or I become an actor who is playing a role that others want to see but is not true to who I am. Have you ever acted a part so people would like you, so you might get the reward, so you might feel more important?

Seeking glory is the opposite of discipleship. This life isn’t about our glory. It is about His. The greatness, power, victory, and majesty are His and His alone. And, the path that Jesus takes towards that glory carries a cross and climbs up onto it. His glory is revealed most clearly in His dying.

Maybe, then, His glory is most revealed in us in our dying moments and in the moments we want to die? That is, perhaps the Glory of the Lord is most near when we die to ourselves and lift up others. When we serve and sacrifice for the sake of those who can never pay us back. When we embrace the ones who are rarely seen. When we sit with the ones who have no friends. When we give credit and recognize the contributions and talents of others over and above our own. This is His glory in you.

I really hope that you have moments in this life where you are praised for accomplishments; times where you are invited to share some words of reflection after the completion of a project or to receive an award. *I do have some notes on words not to use if you need my help. But I also hope that in those moments when you are receiving praise that you reflect that praise onto the Lord. Why? Because your successes and accomplishments are a direct reflection of His work in your life.

All the glory goes to the Lord. On the good days. And on those days you get tripped up on your words and want to hide under a rock. The cross of Jesus and His glory covers you on both days—and every day in between.

Have any good, embarrassing stories, where God still covers you in His goodness?