I've nothing important to add to the following paragraphs from Brueggemann's brilliant book. (I don't use the word 'brilliant' often, and never as lazy superlative cliche!). Those who preach and those who listen - feel the passion of the Gospel.
"Real guilt requires real repentance. Finally, however, guilt requires a flood of self-gift from one outside ourselves. This gift overwhelms us, because the one who gives self stands in solidarity with us at great cost. Evangelical faith is a study of how God is more for us than we are for ourselves. (Rom. 8.31-39.) It is the very life of God that deals with the lingering poison of our "evil conscience", poison that causes death to us and those around us. God's way with us emerges out of God's deep love that cannot stand by while we die of the poison. In the priestly version of God's care, it is God's blood, God's self, God's own life, God's love that is passionately, generously recklessly thrown across the poison of guilt". (p.36)
"Evangelical preaching is invited to break out of the conservatism that makes God function mechanically, for such a scholastic God has no power to save. Preaching is invited to break out of the liveralism that believes we finally can manage on our own, for managing never gives life. Preaching has to do with a life poured out for us to deal with the residue of guilt left untouched by reparations". (p.36)
"The preacher renders a world not known in advance. It requires no great cleverness to speak such a world, but it requires closeness to those texts that know secrets that mediate life. These texts voice life that is given nowhere else. The preaching moment is a moment for the gift of God's life in the midst of our tired alienation. For this the church and indeed the world awaits. They wait until, finally, the poet comes, until finally the poet comes". (p.41)
"Evangelical preaching is invited to break out of the conservatism that makes God function mechanically, for such a scholastic God has no power to save. Preaching is invited to break out of the liveralism that believes we finally can manage on our own, for managing never gives life. Preaching has to do with a life poured out for us to deal with the residue of guilt left untouched by reparations". (p.36)
"The preacher renders a world not known in advance. It requires no great cleverness to speak such a world, but it requires closeness to those texts that know secrets that mediate life. These texts voice life that is given nowhere else. The preaching moment is a moment for the gift of God's life in the midst of our tired alienation. For this the church and indeed the world awaits. They wait until, finally, the poet comes, until finally the poet comes". (p.41)
Pretty breathtaking stuff! Think I'll be keeping an eye out for this one.
Posted by: sorlil | February 27, 2009 at 09:43 AM