Preaching is a primary way of getting theology out to 'the common people' -- preaching should be viewed in a theological light by those doing it.

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Theology of Preaching and in Preaching and through Preaching

In some ways, writing about preaching is like writing about Jesus. It is often difficult to get a firm grasp of the subject. The section title, derivative of the proto-creedal statement in liturgical formulae, shows part of the trouble. Distinctions between theology of preaching and theology in preaching can be made, but the boundaries are fuzzy and impermanent; depending upon one’s frame of reference, they can shift dramatically. My particular formulation of theology of and in and through preaching derives largely from process and liberation theological ideas, with a fair amount of influence from my family’s Jewish heritage. Many of the principles and goals of preaching are true be they from the pulpit of a Christian church or a Jewish synagogue, or a non-denominational (and, to an extent, non-religious) street corner. Take, for instance, the excerpt from a sermon by Daisy Machado:

In this forest we have seen the great tree of justice fall. Fallen also is the lovely tree of equality. The tree of educational opportunity has fallen, as has the leafy tree of respect and dignity. And as we gaze upon this destruction—as we look at the results of this sinful desecration—we cry to God, ‘Can the stump sprout again?’ (Machado, pp. 148-149)

This image and message reaches out to all people. It doesn’t rely on limited goods or exclusive formulations. While Machado does connect the sermon both to the Hebrew Scriptures and to Jesus, these are not done in such a way to limit the message or appeal to any hearer.

This connectedness is something that women in particular have an understanding and appreciation of in their ways of knowing the world. (See also brief discussion in the Addendum of Proctor-Smith, In Her Own Rite, and Belenky, et al., Women’s Ways of Knowing) This is something for which all preachers should strive.

Our feelings of connectedness, expansiveness, and wholeness through love can open us to an encounter with God, but so does our sense of dissatisfaction—“our heart is restless till it rests in you,” to quote Augustine of Hippo. We find God in our experiences of wholeness. We also find God in our fragmentation, which yearns for completeness. God lifts up the fragments of our experiences and makes them whole. (Ochs, p. 199. I love this quote particularly given that it is in a book by a Jewish woman primary for a Jewish audience, reclaiming a universal truth beyond the heavily-Christian overtones any portion of Augustine necessarily carries.)

Preaching, when done well, appreciates the fragmentation, the brokenness of the world, and works at making new bonds and pursues a healing course, which paradoxically can sometimes be painful.

Preaching needs to have meaning. There is an apocryphal tale about Garrison Keillor discussing the concordat of agreement between Lutherans and Episcopalians, and that one of the dangers for Lutherans is that their forty-minute sermons on the bible and the grace of God will be traded for ten-minute talk on the beauty of flowers.(I have been unable to find the specific reference – it was traded through e-mail joke lists in the late 1990s.) While this is (for the most part) an exaggeration, it does highlight the desire for people to hear something meaningful from the preacher; the sermon is not simply something to pass time between the readings and communion. ‘The sermon should set forth a convincing vision of how the congregation can understand itself in the light of God’s gracious love for all and God’s will for justice for all. As a lure for feeling, the sermon touches the whole of the self.’ (Williamson & Allen, AS, p. 140) Preaching needs to have theological content, a direction, and above all, honest intention.

Ironically, it is often the liberal mainstream churches that have more difficulty incorporating meaningful theological content than their more conservative and fundamentalist counterparts.

We must begin by acknowledging that any approach to the mystery of God will be metaphorical. Literal truth is always surface truth; it cannot enter into the deep mysteries of God’s grace. Fundamentalism is often glib; in latching onto literal truth, it dodges the paradoxical and, though defending inerrant truth, settles for a good deal less. (Buttrick, PNN, p. 121)

Preachers sometimes lack confidence in their own abilities; often they lack confidence in the congregation’s ability to understand. But it is important to strive to make the connections, particularly being honest about the difficulties involved with biblical texts. ‘People who have for generations been abused by the preaching of the Bible need to hear the Bible preached in ways that affirm and validate them. This kind of preaching requires study—and an eye to taking Jesus back from the fundamentalists—but it is the most effective kind of preaching for my community.’ (Flunder, pp. 68-69)

It is important to know the community. By this I do not mean that one should simply acquiesce and repeat back to the community what they want to hear. The preacher needs to tell them what they need to hear. Sometimes the preacher is tempted to concentrate on otherworldly images and passages, as it is easier to address, and often easier for the congregation to hear. But this is to deny God a true place in the world, and this is one of the primary responsibilities of a preacher – to locate God in the world.

God is not dead, but it is hard to deny that God is absent from contemporary culture. It is possible that we have been looking for God in the wrong places. What the preacher seeks to discover and to convey, though it is something specifically Christian, is to be found within the world rather than outside of or above it. (Hill, p. 100)

God is present in many ways, on many levels. Just as liturgical practice strives to capture both real presence and symbolic representation, so too should preaching work toward these ends. How God is seen as being present is often a matter of interpretation that varies by tradition and by individual. ‘…The paradox is that the symbols cannot simply be given as they are, in their rawness. To give them is to interpret them. This is theology. And since the symbols emerge from the texts as interpreted by the traditions, both text and tradition are important to theological preaching.’ (Suchocki, p. 40; see also Bond, p. 15ff)

Discourse on Method

‘The sermon does not become a sermon until the moment it is preached.’ – Clark Williamson & Ronald Allen

How one preaches matters. This varies by congregation, by purpose of the sermon, by complexity of the topic, and by a host of other factors. The style, the language, the intention of the preacher, the liturgical setting – all of these things matter.

Many congregations express a concern that their seminary-trained preachers don’t preach the bible or Jesus. Buttrick faces this criticism head-on: ‘Let us admit the truth: In a way, none of us preach directly from the Bible.’ (Buttrick, CV, p. 89) This is not to say that the bible is absent from preaching, but rather that what is being done in the pulpit is not a simple regurgitation of the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount. Preachers attempt to introduce new understanding into the congregation, but it is likely to fail unless sensitivity to the starting-place of the congregation is recognised. ‘As theologically educated pastors, we have ways of thinking about the faith that congregations need. But we must speak their language to do it.’ (Bond, p. 9) As Kathleen Norris wrote in her book (a book most probably more popular and more widely read than any academic theology text in the past century), ‘I seldom quote from modern theologians in my sermons, although I’m often indebted to their scholarship, because I often find their language too theoretical to be of much use. The language of the theologians of the early church, however, is remarkably vivid.’ (Norris, p. 275) The early theologians were writing to the common people, not just to fellow academics and theologians, but they had a sensitivity and spirit of inquiry that drove them to explore matters systematically and philosophically. Modern preachers need to work to find the same balance.

In our class this semester, we have concentrated on the Buttrick style of sermon construction. There are other styles also, some inductive, some deductive; some stay more with the biblical texts and some depart to become much more topical. How and why preachers choose these styles depends upon their education and their own understanding of what they are doing. One hopes they have also taken stock of what is most effective with their own congregation.

Preachers need to demonstrate in the sermon that they have heard such questions from the congregation and deal with them in a serious way. The preacher often needs to explore different ways of answering the questions and critically evaluate the various possibilities. Simple answers seldom satisfy such questioners. (Allen, p. 92)

While it may seem that a congregation wants simple answers, in fact what they are looking for is understanding and enlightenment, and perhaps a charge or direction. Without considering the difficulties of texts (or of life in general) from the pulpit, one might as well be talking about the beauty of flowers.

There are also other considerations. Staying close to the biblical text is often a safer route, at least as a starting point. ‘This is one of the reasons why both women and minority preachers are generally more biblical in their preaching than are many other people. They know quite well that when they preach, they have no status given them by society.’ (Gonzalez & Gonzalez, p. 95) Where one goes with interpretation of the biblical text can lead to difficult and dangerous territory (in both a good and a bad sense), but the grounding of authority by relying on the biblical text often helps maintain the authority of the preacher.

Where the preacher views herself in liturgical practice is also important. Some traditions, such as Anglican and Old Catholic practices, make it difficult to blend a radical message in the sermon with the rest of the liturgy, which is prescribed by books and canons. (See Bond, p. 10ff) However, sometimes it is more personal an issue. ‘Sometimes the lack of unity between sermon and the rest of worship is manifested not by the liturgical acts themselves but by the preacher’s leadership style.’ (Noren, p. 148) This leadership style can be difficult to detect by the preacher herself, but an examination of the intention of being in worship helps unify and embody the sermon message. ‘To view one’s preaching as an act of worship unites one in a different way with the congregation. That is, too often the perception is that the people have come to worship God, and the clergy have come to help them worship God.’ (Suchocki, p. 79) It is only by putting oneself in the midst of the congregation, to be a fellow-worshiper and living symbol of the priesthood of all believers, that the preacher will be most effective in sending forth a message that is meant to be received by all.


Liberation and Process

‘…there can be no liberation preaching without actual involvement in the process of liberation. ’ – Justo and Catherine Gonzalez

The twentieth century has seen a great resurgence in prophetic preaching in the style of the ancient Hebrew prophets, who called for justice and equity among the people, particular from those in authority whose tendency was toward oppression subtle and gross. However, the task of being a liberation preacher is often difficult. ‘To be a liberation preacher in such a setting is to embark on a long and costly journey, with no guarantee that those who are traveling with you really wish to travel that road—and perhaps even that you yourself with to travel it.’ (Gonzalez & Gonzalez, p. 112) However, the task is ours, from the pleas of the ancient prophets to the commission from Jesus to the cries of those oppressed and suffering in the present world. The church, as a human institution with authority, has often been co-opted by worldly powers. ‘Let us admit that too often the church has traded in hereafter promises and, at the same time, stood firmly against urgent social change. Christian faith can be little more than heavenly deception.’ (Buttrick, PNN, p. 67) Pie-in-the-sky bye-and-bye theology has been used to keep people – women, minorities, disabled, lower-class, etc. – in their place, by speaking of an equality before God, but by making no effort at bringing about this equality in this world. Liberation theologians call to the people to take up their own cause. Much of this has been done through preaching.

Preaching liberation is not a new task. While we experience the ancient prophets through biblical texts, in fact what most of them did was to preach their message. This presented dangers for them as it presents dangers for those who preach liberation today – the examples of murders of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Oscar Romero are but the tip of huge mountain of reaction against liberation preaching.

Like our biblical ancestors, we cannot afford to dismiss prophetic, social messages. Guilt and lethargy often result when an institution—whether it is the state, a church, a school, or even a family member—stresses individual accountability in isolation from social reality. Listening to prophetic voices, hearing and knowing what to believe, calls us to listen and respond together. (Thompsett, p. 88)

Liberation theology looks for justice in all dimensions of life. Liberation theology does not neglect the spiritual side, however often it may be accused of being a purely political movement.

In the spiritual dimension of life there is justice, for all are accounted and treated as the children of God. No human being has a God-given power to exploit or oppress others, for none of these things are hidden from God. God is the protector of the handicapped. God drives flies off the tailless animal. (Oduyoye, p. 257)

The call for liberation from the many forms of oppression humankind has subjected itself to is likely a never-ending process.

Process theology came into its fullest expression through work expanding from Whitehead and Hartshorne, and is perhaps one of the more difficult theological frameworks to directly explain in the context of a sermon. Even in theology classes, process theology is sometimes seen as confusing and fuzzy. However, process theology works to eliminate many of the difficulties preachers have had explaining difficult texts and difficult life situations. One of the things that congregations want is for the preacher to make sense, not only within the framework of the sermon, but to make sense of life, which often seems random and senseless.

…the gospel also requires us to make sense. Process thinkers are sometimes accused of importing into scripture an alien concern for sense making. Process thinkers, of course, do not find themselves guilty of this charge. What we see is that within the process of reinterpretation going on in scripture itself, sense making is a central concern. (Williamson & Allen, CTW, p. 77)

Process looks for a caring and concerned and active God, for whom the ultimate redemption of the world and the individuals in it is important. Process deals with the real world as it is, but is not resigned to hopelessness or powerlessness. This can add real power to preaching.

Preachers are often better at describing a world they hope for than articulating truth about the real world. It is in response to that real world, not an imaginary one, that the Christian community is called to live and speak and act. If preachers speak the truth about life and faith with clarity and courage, preaching could be an act of confession that heals, confronts, and enlivens. (Smith, PWCR, p. 5)

Process theology can open a way for honesty and clarity which, taken together with liberation theology, can reach congregations as empowering, challenging, and satisfying.

A Non-Conclusion

‘Will preaching continue in centuries to come? Yes, obviously, preaching will continue in some form as long as the evangelical work of the church is part of God’s great design for the world’s redemption. But how preaching will continue is difficult to predict. ’ – David Buttrick

There are few conclusions I can draw here, and none seem conclusive. The responsibility of preaching is a never-ending process for those so called. Just as our lives are in continuous process, ‘…the same thing is so with our sermons. They are ours to give away. Given, they are no longer ours. Our sermons are given to us in trust for the congregations to whom they belong. Our responsibility is to receive the sermon and to give it away.’ (Suchocki, p. 57) For myself, the words of Christine Smith hold a charge to embrace:

I am pleading with preachers to embrace a kind of preaching ministry that makes little distinction between pastoral and prophetic, individual and social. When we enable people to understand the powers and forces in this world that close family farms, bring genocide into Native American communities nationwide, lock women into homes of violence, and force gay and lesbian persons to deny the lovers in their lives, we are preaching pastorally and prophetically, and we are addressing individual and collective human need. (Smith, PWCR, p. 163)

While not every sermon (and, in fact, probably not most sermons) will live up to this ideal, I will work with this goal in mind. As I ponder, pray, write, re-write, pray again, and finally send forth the sermon, the words of liberation through the lens of process thought, with a care toward the needs of the congregation (those they know, and those they don’t know), will be my intention, so that we may worship together and be inspired together by the Holy Spirit.


Bibliography

Allen, Ronald J. Preaching is Believing: The Sermon as Theological Reflection. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 2002.

Belenky, Mary Field, Blythe McVicker Clinchy, Nancy Rule Goldberger, and Jill Mattuck Tarule. Women’s Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind. New York: Basic Books, 1986.

Bond, L. Susan. Trouble with Jesus: Women, Christology, and Preaching. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1999.

Buttrick, David. A Captive Voice: The Liberation of Preaching. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1994.

Buttrick, David. Preaching the New and the Now. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1998.

Flunder, Yvette. ‘Managing the Thorn’, in Birthing the Sermon: Women Preachers on the Creative Process, edited by Jana Childers. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2001.

Gonzalez, Justo L. and Catherine G. Gonzalez. Liberation Preaching: The Pulpit and the Oppressed. William Thompson, editor. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1980.

Hill, William J. ‘Toward a Theology of Preaching’, in Preaching and the Non-Ordained: An Interdisciplinary Study, edited by Nadine Foley, O.P. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1983.

Machado, Daisy. ‘The Forest of Felled Trees’, in Sisters Struggling in the Spirit: A Women of Color Theological Anthology, edited by Nantawan Boonprasat Lewis, Lydia Hernandez, Helen Locklear, and Robina Marie Winbush. Louisville: Women’s Ministries Program Area, Presbyterian Church, 1994

Noren, Carol M. The Woman in the Pulpit. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992.

Norris, Kathleen. The Cloister Walk. New York: Riverhead Books, 1996.

Ochs, Carol. Our Lives as Torah. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001.

Oduyoye, Mercy Amba. “The Empowering Spirit of Religion’, in Lift Every Voice and Sing: Constructing Christian Theologies from the Underside, edited by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite and Mary Potter Engel. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990.

Proctor-Smith, Marjorie. In Her Own Rite: Constructing Feminist Liturgical Tradition. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990.

Suchocki, Marjorie Hewitt. The Whispered Word: A Theology of Preaching. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1999.

Thompsett, Frederica Harris. We Are Theologians: Strengthening the People of the Episcopal Church. Cambridge: Cowley Press, 1989.

Williamson, Clark and Ronald Allen. Adventures of the Spirit: A Guide to Worship from the Perspective of Process Theology. New York: University Press of America, 1997.

Williamson, Clark and Ronald Allen. A Credible and Timely Word: Process Theology and Preaching. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1991.