Eugene Peterson claims in one of his books: "For a long time I have been convinced that I could take a person with a high school education, give him or her a six-month trade school training, and provide a pastor who would be satisfactory to any discriminating American congregation. The curriculum would consist of four courses. Course 1: Creative Plagiarism. I would put you in touch with a wide range of excellent and inspirational talks, show you how to alter them just enough to obscure their origins, and get you a reputation for wit and wisdom. Course 2: Voice Control for Prayer and Counseling. We would develop your own distinct style of Holy Joe intonation, acquiring the skill in resonance and modulation that conveys an unmistakable aura of sanctity. Course 3: Efficient Office Management. There is nothing that parishioners admire more in their pastors than the capacity to run a tight ship administratively ...Course 4: Image Projection. Here we would master the half-dozen well-known and easily implemented devices that create the impression that we are terrifically busy and widely sought after for counsel by influential people in the community."

As one preacher speaking to others, Peterson is poking fun, of course, but he is also speaking a hard truth. The clergy always run the risk of merely putting on a good show. Ministers like me can grow so accustomed to the absence of God that we lose our vocabulary for naming God's presence. And we fill the vacuum by heaping up empty prayers and tuning up the religious machinery.

The one thing we need is a Word from God. The one gift we cannot purchase out of a catalog is the Word that names us, claims us, judges us, and redeems us. We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, God didn't speak to the politicians. During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God didn't speak to the religious functionaries. No, "the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness."