Art Reading Scripture

The Sleeping Congregation, William Hogarth, 1728, Minneapolis Institute of Art

So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

Preaching has a bad reputation with negative connotations. "Don't preach to me!" "Practice what you preach!" "That sounds so 'preachy." Adjectives associated with preaching include: boring, long-winded, irrelevant, academic, idealistic, high-and-mighty, or highfalutin. William Hogarth, a social satirist, presents the preacher as witless and pompous, literally above the congregation to which he preaches. Pulpits themselves contributed to the superiority of the preacher by lifting him high above the congregation, with many steps leading up to an enclosed box from which he delivered his oration. In this painting the preacher has put the entire congregation to sleep either by the length, irrelevance, or overly intellectual nature of his discourse. To his right, out of his sight, is an hour glass, which helped to limit the length of the sermon, but the hourglass is only half empty. A typical sermon of the time had four parts, introduction, statement of facts, application, and conclusion. I saw one such timer that had four glasses, one for each part, with 15 minutes of sand in each glass. At least his lay reader below him had the good sense to fold his hands and appear as though he were praying.

While preachers are well aware of these critiques, the reputation of long-winded, heady sermons persists. Antidotes include: trying to make the sermon entertaining with jokes and illustrations; poignant with moving stories of tragedy, faith and triumph; making sermons relevant by talking about parenting or mental health or applying faith to one's work life. So what is the purpose of the sermon?

The Apostle Paul said, "faith comes from what is heard." Likewise, the Gospel of John, essentially a long sermon, states its purpose as, "that you may continue to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name." John 20:31 In a letter to the church at Ephesus Paul wrote that the work and gifts of pastors and teachers was "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ... building itself up in love." Ephesians 4:12-16 Lutheran preaching under the theme of Law and Gospel is for the purpose of convicting the sinner (the Law), and driving the sinner to salvation in Christ, grace and the love of God (the Gospel.) Soren Kierkegaard said, "... and this is the essential object of the sermon, this is the end it should serve, to keep me alert when I become slack, and to strengthen me when I become disheartened." I speak, preach of our lives in this broken and fallen world, separated from God, from each other, from creation, and from ourselves, and proclaim the love of God in Christ Jesus that reunites us in faith, hope and love with God and all things. Sinners need salvation. I appreciate Kierkegaard's expression of this. When I become slack, self-assured, or even God complacent and I presume faith more than practice it, preaching keeps me alert, reminds me to pay attention. When I'm low, feeling shame, guilt, inadequacy, or alone, preaching, the word, builds me up, strengthens me to live again.

I think think preaching is private and public, it comes from the preacher to the pew. It is based in the Word of God and it strives to be the word of God, rather than the opinion of the preacher. It is risky and revealing, for it exposes the preacher, puts her on the spot, standing alone believing he has something to say that is worth hearing by others. It requires creativity, and inspiration as a gift of the Holy Spirit, more than perspiration and work as an effort of the preacher. It requires faith before preaching that the word "that goes out from my mouth ... shall not return empty." Isaiah 55:10 It sometimes requires forgiveness for the preacher can offend the hearer or wonder if the word did any good. Hopefully it does not make others weary, but encourages faith for living Christ to the world.

Even so... After a long dry sermon, the minister announced that he wished to meet with the church board following the close of service. The first man to arrive and greet the minister was a total stranger. "You misunderstood my announcement," explained the minister. "I know," said the man, and if there is anyone here more bored than I am, then I'd like to meet him."

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus.

Pastor Tim Bauer.