Preaching has not changed at all
[1] As Craig Satterlee and Trish Madden recently reaffirmed, the
core of Lutheran preaching has been and always should be centered
on one thing, and one thing alone: the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.[1] If we continue to hold
that "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today" (Hebrews 13:8
- Proper 17 Year C), and if we are indeed continuing to preach the
Gospel in our pulpits, then it is a very good thing that our
preaching has not changed since September 11.
[2] In these post-modern days the next question one might pose
is, "Yes, well, I know this, but which 'Gospel of Jesus Christ' are
you talking about?" The Gospel of unconditional love? The Gospel of
grace and forgiveness? The Gospel of inclusion and welcome? The
Gospel of liberation for the poor? For the preacher, the answer
must be "all of the above." Preaching the Gospel of unconditional
love and compassionate healing reaches out to those in our
congregations for whom September 11 opened wounds of loneliness,
abandonment, unworthiness, anger, and loss. Those who have lost
loved ones in the past year, whether as casualties of the attacks
themselves or in other ways, may be particularly overwhelmed with
guilt for things said or unsaid, done or undone. The Gospel of
grace and forgiveness provides cool water for the parched tongues
of those who are stuck in that desert of sin and shame. Most of us
experienced an influx of worshipers immediately following September
11, and some of these newcomers have continued to worship with us.
Of these, many had previously heard words of exclusion or judgement
which had driven them away from church[2] and they in particular
need to hear the Gospel of welcome and inclusion. September 11
engendered an outpouring of funds to the families of the those who
died. Now is a particularly good time to remind our congregations
that the needs of the poor - not just in New York City, Washington
D.C. or Pennsylvania, but also in our own neighborhoods and cities
as well as around the world--are especially acute even as we become
richer as individuals and as a nation. The Gospel of liberation for
the poor needs to be proclaimed not just to the poor, but to those
of us who can work to bring about change.
[3] If the statistic that roughly one-third of our country
experienced some level of post-traumatic stress disorder is
correct, there remains a number of people in our congregations for
whom this past year has been unusually difficult in ways they are
still finding hard to put their fingers on. It is quite likely that
they will experience a "rebound" of these feelings this fall. Now
more than ever, our people need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ
who died and rose again so that they might know that they are
sinners who are forgiven and loved so much that their wounds can be
healed and that they are empowered to reach out to others in
need.
Preaching has not changed enough
[4] If we have only used September 11 as an occasion to reach out
to those whose lives as Christians are journeys of personal healing
and wholeness, I fear we will have missed an opportunity to be
faithful disciples and stewards of creation and the global
community.
[5] From what I hear from colleagues across the nation, many of
our sermons last the fall did reflect an increased global awareness
and called upon our listeners to pay attention to the consequences
of U.S. foreign policy. A year later we are still called to ask the
question, "What does it mean to be a Christian and a citizen of the
richest and most powerful nation in the world?" Yet many of my
colleagues report that they have moved away from this kind of
preaching as we have gotten farther away from September 11, 2001,
noting that their sermons in the past year have become "more
Biblical."[3] In his Christmas Sermon
on Luke 2:1-11, Martin Luther described the Bible as the swaddling
clothes "in which the Christian truth lies wrapped;"
[4]so being deliberate about
"Biblical preaching" is indeed a good thing, but again, it is not
so easy to define. In light of increased violence around the world
which is funded and staffed by our tax dollars, daughters and sons,
how do we preach "If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn
the other also" (Matthew 5:39; 7 Epiphany year A)? Or "bless those
who persecute you; bless and do not curse them" (Romans 12:14;
Proper 17 year A)? September 11 raised our awareness of the need
for interfaith dialogue and understanding, especially with our
Muslim brothers and sisters. So how do we faithfully preach - "I am
the way the truth and the life" (John 14:6 - Feast of St. Thomas;
Rite for Funerals ) without undoing the good that has come about in
this climate of interfaith respect? As our country's leaders
discuss the necessity to declare war upon Iraq, how do we walk with
our listeners in their understanding of "Blessed are the
peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9, All Saints A)?
[6] Jesus often answered a question with another question, and
the explanations of the parables were later additions by the
evangelists who themselves were on a journey of understanding. It
seems to me that if we are to remain faithful to the Gospel and to
the one who saved us, as preachers we are called, not to try to
provide easy answers or pat solutions, but to keep asking the
difficult questions - of the scripture texts, of ourselves, our
parishioners, our Church, and our nation. Our calling as preachers
of the Gospel should be nothing less than to follow the example of
Jesus, inviting our hearers into the challenge of discerning what
it means to live as Christians, gifted by grace and challenged by
the Word.
And what about the Preachers?
[7] The people in our congregations were not the only ones who were
powerfully affected by the events of September 11, 2001. We were
too. As much as our listeners needed to hear that they are loved,
protected, and challenged by the One who made them, so have we. My
internship supervisor once told me that we tend to preach the
sermons we need to hear. Have we been listening?
[8] On April 7 of this year, clergy from around the country
traveled to New York City parishes to share the burdens, if only
for one Sunday, of our sisters and brothers who had been
ministering tirelessly to those whose lives were touched most
immediately by the collapse of the Word Trade Center. I suspect the
challenge for those of us who serve in Iowa, Nebraska, or Northern
Minnesota has been to give ourselves permission to be personally
affected by the horrific events, whether or not we knew anyone who
died. The psyche of the entire nation was wounded in ways that we
will only fully understand as time goes on. I pray that those of us
whose calling it is to care for others will be conscious of our own
needs as well.
[9] I believe that my greatest challenge as a preacher is to
remember that I am not called to be the expert, the answer-person,
or the saint. As one who proclaims the Gospel with my lips, I am
merely joining the ranks of thousands who seek to proclaim that
Gospel with their lives. In the Lutheran ordination rite, the
Bishop prays, "Bless his/her proclamation of your Word and
administration of your Sacraments, O Lord, so that your Church may
be gathered for praise and strengthened for
service;"[5] and calls upon each
ordinand to "witness faithfully in word and deed to all
people."[6] I believe that if we
continue to pray, ask questions, seek support and community, and
commit ourselves to the journey of walking alongside others, we
will fulfill our calling to this life of faithful proclamation.
[1] Craig Satterlee and Trish Madden,
"Public Policy and the Pulpit: Falling through the Cracks to Making
Justice," in Let&=javascript:goNote(39s Talk, Volume 7, Issue 1
(Pentecost 2002): 4.
[2] I am thinking particularly of women
who have had abortions, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered
people, people who have been divorced, and those recovering from
addiction.
[3] In response to an informal e-mail
query I sent out on September 1, 2002. I heard from 15 of my
colleagues from across the country, representing a variety of
settings and denominational affiliation. The two concepts which
were repeated most often were that "now more than ever" people in
the pews are listening to sermons to find spiritual solace and
connection, and the sermons being preached were more
"Biblical."
[4] "Sermon for Christmas Day; Luke
2:1-14" The Complete Sermons of Martin Luther, vol 1, (Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House, 2001), 150.
[5] Rite of Ordination, Occasional
Services, A Companion to the Lutheran Book of Worship,
(Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1982), 196.
[6] Ibid, 197.