Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

For some Christians, the sermon is the highlight of the service of worship, the main course of the meal. Setting aside such motives as, for instance, wanting to be entertained, the interest these Christians show in the sermon has something to do with the truth. People want to get hold of some truth, which they can ruminate over or take to their lives in the coming week. Liturgically, however, if someone sits down in the pew with truth and the sermon on his mind, he is told to wait.Of the many reasons why this is the right thing to do liturgically, I should like to highlight one: simply, Christians believe that truth always needs an introduction. Or, in connection to Christian preaching, the truths we are told in the sermon do not start off anew, but rather always build upon what we have heard before. Specifically, preaching extends the reading of Scripture; it is bound to it. Since Scripture comes in words, the binding is linguistic. A preacher may weave a compelling pattern with words masterfully chosen, but if none of these words echoes and re-echoes Scripture, the sermon has failed, the Word of God has not been proclaimed.This may seem like a limitation for preachers. But it is actually their salvation. For it allows them to speak on someone else's behalf. As Karl Barth suggests, they are heralds; they speak for someone else. As such, they do not need to establish their own authority ... log in or subscribe to read full text