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Preaching Requires Knowing More than Scripture:
Devotional Thought of the Day:
For though I am no man’s slave, yet I have made myself everyone’s slave, that I might win more men to Christ. To the Jews I was a Jew that I might win the Jews. To those who were under the Law I put myself in the position of being under the Law (although in fact I stand free of it), that I might win those who are under the Law. To those who had no Law I myself became like a man without the Law (even though in fact I cannot be a lawless man for I am bound by the law of Christ), so that I might win the men who have no Law. To the weak I became a weak man, that I might win the weak. I have, in short, been all things to all sorts of men that by every possible means I might win some to God. I do all this for the sake of the Gospel; I want to play my part in it properly.
1 Corinthians 9:16 (Phillips NT)
Her (the Church) purpose has been to adapt the Gospel to the grasp of all as well as to the needs of the learned, insofar as such was appropriate. Indeed this accommodated preaching of the revealed word ought to remain the law of all evangelization. For thus the ability to express Christ’s message in its own way is developed in each nation, and at the same time there is fostered a living exchange between the Church and the diverse cultures of people.22 To promote such exchange, especially in our days, the Church requires the special help of those who live in the world, are versed in different institutions and specialties, and grasp their innermost significance in the eyes of both believers and unbelievers. With the help of the Holy Spirit, it is the task of the entire People of God, especially pastors and theologians, to hear, distinguish and interpret the many voices of our age, and to judge them in the light of the divine word, so that revealed truth can always be more deeply penetrated, better understood and set forth to greater advantage. (1)
Back in the days of my youth, a phrase similar to the title of this blog caused a reaction in me. I was at a seminar on preaching, actually 3 sections on preparation and one final one, on the actual delivery.
It was the third section that bothered me at first, and yet now I wish it was taught to every preacher, every pastor, every priest.
It is not enough to know the word of God, to be able to know the background of the passage, to be able to study all the words in the original languages, to know what scholars from every age thought about it. All these studies are good, all are necessary, along with times of devoted prayer.
But what is also needed is what Paul describes, and what Vatican II’s pastors noted. We have to understand ( to use a pastoral term “exegete”) those who are listening. We have to understand who they are, where their fears and anxieties haunt them, where their guilt and share show that God’s law (whether it be natural law or the covenant) is convicting them, or should be.
Think of it this way, preaching is part of the ministry of the word of God. That word of God is a means of grace – a conduit through which the Holy Spirit pours out grace, the mercy, love and peace that God would desire we all know, that affects every aspect of our lives. Those who preach and teach the word of God are expert at connect the conduit to the source.
But have we figured out how to preach what Luther called “real law” and “real gospel” Have we thought and prayed about making sure the conduit is connect to the other side? Do we bother to think of how our people will hear what we preach? Or do we preach God’s law to convict those not there, and the gospel to people whose sin does not afflict them?
This is what Paul is getting at when he describes becoming like those under the law, or recognize his own weakness, or becoming like those who aren’t bound by the Old Testament. He strives to preach Christ in a way they will hear it, so that they may be saved. This includes all who God would have hear of His love, the believer, and those who as of yet do not believe.
This is what Vatican II was advising in the selection, to understand the world so that the revealed truth of Christ can deeply penetrate those who hear it, and so that He can be understood, and so they can know His love and presence and peace.
May those who preach tomorrow, and those who listen, find this connection made, and people realize the height and depth, the breadth and width of God’s love for them, revealed in Christ Jesus. AMEN
(1) Catholic Church. “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World: Gaudium Et Spes.” Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2011. Print.
Are We Waiting for the End of Time with Joy?
Discussion and Devotional Thought of the Day:
10 Announce to the nations, “The LORD is King! The world stands firm, never to be shaken, and he will judge its people with fairness.” 11 Tell the heavens and the earth to be glad and celebrate! Command the ocean to roar with all of its creatures 12 and the fields to rejoice with all of their crops. Then every tree in the forest will sing joyful songs 13 to the LORD. He is coming to judge all people on earth with fairness and truth. Psalm 96:10-13 (CEV)
794 Mary spent three days and three nights looking for the Son who was lost. May you and I also be able to say that our willingness to find Jesus knows no rest. (1)
Carmelite Vow: Let each stay in or near their own cell, meditating, day and night on the law of the Lord, and vigilant in prayer, unless otherwise employed by the Holy Spirit! (2)
As I look at the last quote, it seems odd for me, a Lutheran pastor, to quote a Catholic Monastic Vow. Luther was not known to praise monastic orders, he saw little use for them.
But to dismiss this thought entirely, is to forget the amount of time Luther spent in prayer, and in the word of God.
What would happen if we spent this kind of time with God, that whenever we weren’t involved in our vocations of life, we were using that time for prayer. If we made the time we spent entertaining ourselves, the time we watched “reality shows”, the time we spent just doing nothing, seeking the Lord? If we gave thought daily to His return, His glorious return? I think we wouldn’t fear it, or see Christ’s return as simply an escape from the day’s trouble. ( I will admit there are days I cry out for his return, just to be done with the trauma and drama of this life)
I think the experience of being so aware of His peace would change us dramatically.
We would hunger for those times as the Psalmist does, as we read of men like Luther and Wesley who would make a priority of hours a day in prayer. I love St Josemaria’s thoughts as well, what if our willingness, or desire to find Jesus knew no rest – if we looked for His presence, not just in the fifteen minutes of the day, but also for hours, and for the seconds when we have nothing else occupying our minds?
That would change how we view our vocations, how we view the daily grind of life.
It would change every encounter, as fueled by our time with Hi, our hearts would be centered on the glorious day of His return. The time where judgment comes, and rather than fearing it, we welcome it, because of the work of Jesus Christ. We welcome His coming, seeing the Father face to face, knowing as we are known.
Come, let’s plunge into a life of devotion, come, lets spend time with our Lord! Not to impress Him, not because of some expectation we hope to meet, but rather, in love with a God who would come and make His life here… among us.
Lord Have Mercy!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3286-3288). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Celtic Prayer Book, Monthy Devotional Thought for the 3d Day of the Month
How Important is That “Hour”
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” Matthew 26:40-41 (NLT)
28 “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. 30 For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (TEV)
“why is there so little anxiety to get time to pray? Ist is the want of these solitary hours that not only injures our growrh in grace, but makes us such unprofitable members of the church of Christ – and that renders our lives…useless. ( Celtic Prayer Book – Devotion for 12/17)
In the hectic-ness of my trip to the Philipinnes, it has been far to easy to skip my “devotional time”. The time where I deliberately try and slow down, or let God slow me down. A time to relax – and listen – mostly listen to God’s love for me. It can be, it is revealed through the scriptures, through the devotional reading I do – through givning him my anxieties, my burdens – and as I am realizing on this trip – my pains.
You see – if this time is to be devotional – then the result of it should be a time where I grow in my devotion to God – a devotion that is lived out in my daily work, my pastoring, my being a husband, a father, and to many a friend. The time isn’t to prove my devotion to God – a discipline that proves to Him my love, but a time where His presence, in which I realize I am – all the time – strengthens me, cleanses, me, comforts and consoles me.
I used to hear Jesus’ words to the apostles in Gethsemane as a plea for them to prove their love to Him. Even used that in sermons – “come on you lazy people – can’t you just pray and read scripture for an hour? Really? Not even a tithe of your time! Sheesh!” And oh I was wrong.
Look at ALL the words – Jesus is wanting them to pray for their sake, so they will not fall for temptation, for Jesus realizes our hearts desire His presence, our hearts desire not to sin, BUT, our flesh can often fail us – flesh meaning we live in a broken world, and we often fall – not because of anything else bu that we’ve taken our eyes off of God… again. Walking with Jesus in prayer – letting Him build our desire, our devotion to Him as He reveals Himself to us, through His word, through prayer, through the sacraments, is what strengthens us each and every day.
Maybe its not an hour – but 20 minutes here and there – taking time to pray, to listen, to adore the God who has come to us.
That’s what we so desperately need….this sacred time, this point of being set apart – just He and His people – not to prove our devotion…but to reveal His.
Lord Have Mercy!
God Showed His Love for Us!
God Showed His Love for Us!
1 John 4:7-11
† IHS †
May our recognizing God’s love for us, the mercy and peace given in Christ’s presence be something that is revealed to others throughout the year!
Christmas every day?
Christmas is here, the presents, well, most of them, sit under a tree, wrapped and ready to be ripped open. Children on Christmas break, people coming and going, food cooking, sermons written, music singing and sung, peace on earth, God’s will evident for the moment, peace among families, at least for this moment, Love can even dominate the days, as we are encouraged to love each other, as we are challenged to prove our love and devotion to God.
One could almost ask, couldn’t it be Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, every day?
Don’t worry, I said one could almost ask, I didn’t say I would!
We get so caught up, we get so overwhelmed, even so exhausted by it all. Our focus is so easily taken off of Jesus, and His coming to be our Lord.
For some, it might even seem that the question might be asked, do we have to celebrate Christmas any day…
But that’s not the questions for this night,
Here again John’s words to the church,
10 This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven. 1 John 4:10 (TEV)
Which raises a few other questions about days we could celebrate every day….
What about Good Friday every day?
First, if we desire to celebrate Christmas every day, do we also desire to celebrate Good Friday every day? For there God’s love is demonstrated even more clearly. The apostle Paul wrote,
23 As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles; 24 but for those whom God has saved, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:23-24 (TEV)
We should celebrate Good Friday everyday, as well as our baptism, which unites us to that death, His death, for our sins were nailed to that cross, never to be accounted to us again.
What about Easter?
But we can’t divide the cross and Christ’s death from His resurrection, for as Paul says again,
5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. Romans 6:5-8 (NLT)
So yes, we should remember – and indeed celebrate both Good Friday and Easter for these days reveal God’s love to us, for they shatter everything that would keep us from God, He used these days to work such miracles in our lives.
What about the 2nd Coming?
Should I fail to mention that each day we should also celebrate ascension? The day when Christ ascended to the Father’s right hand, there to intercede for us, Or Pentecost, the day when the Father and the Son gave us the Spirit, the very birthday present of the Church? Or the 2nd coming, the day we long for, when we will see God in all His glory.
Each of these days, yes including Christmas, needs to be celebrated everyday, for these days remind us of God’s love for us, shown to us in Christ Jesus,
And knowing that love, shown on Christmas and Good Friday, Easter and the Ascension, Pentecost and the Day of His return; we are overwhelmed by mercy and peace, the peace that cannot be explained, but can be revealed to us, for we live in Christ!
AMEN!
