Last week I celebrated my 70th birthday. On entering my eighth decade I recalled the words of Psalm 90, the oldest Psalm in the Psalter:
“Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10)
I can certainly confirm that time flies and seems to go quicker the older I get.
The Psalmist, reflecting on the brevity of life, encourages people to count their time on earth and make their time count on earth:
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
Life is the richer when we are committed to being life-long learners. This means learning to pay attention to God, learning to listen to him and those that he has made wise. It also means being open to fresh ways of seeing things and different ways of doing things.
One new thing I enjoyed on my birthday was my first visit to an Escape Room.
The Escape Room was in Brighton and had the theme ‘Modrophenia’, playing on the rock opera Quadrophenia by The Who. Our team of ten, with ages ranging from ten to seventy were plunged into a murder mystery based on the conflict between the Mods and Rockers on Brighton Seafront in the 1960”s. Fittingly our team was called ‘The Pinball Wizards’!
We had one hour to solve the murder and escape. In the process I observed three things that are worth remembering as a preacher.
- The importance of paying attention to detail. No piece of information, image or object was without some significance. Following all the clues gave access to locked boxes and doors and helped us to get an increasing full picture.
- The value of seeing the same thing through various sets of eyes. Not everyone sees or thinks in the same way. It was great to see the youngest and the oldest in our team contribute fresh insights that moved the team inch by inch to a conclusion.
- The necessity of not overlooking what is obvious or giving up when a clue seems to be too complex.
When preachers approaches a biblical text, they do so like a detective seeking to read the room at a crime scene, observing all the clues that lead to understanding.
When reading the Gospels I often think about why a Gospel writer has included or omitted details from the same story, and why the Gospel writers choose to include a story that none of the others do. One of my favourite bits of whodunnit exegesis is with Mark 14:51–52:
“A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”
This incident is only in Mark’s Gospel. Why is it there? (Answers on a postcard!)
Preachers also do well to be open to seeing a biblical text through a variety of eyes.
This means reading books and commentaries by more than those writers who are male, pale and stale. Try something like the new edition of the African Bible Commentary from Langham.
Preachers also need to pay attention to Scripture to see those things that it is easy to miss or seem to hard to crack.
In 2026 try something new, listen to fresh voices and be open for the adventure of discovery.
Photo by Patrick Von on Unsplash