The Foolishness of Preaching
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 - "For the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.' Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn't God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn't know God, it was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe."
People tend to understand what you're trying to communicate by interpreting it through the lens of their own experiences. When Paul preached his famous sermon on Mars Hill in Athens, standing near the statues of Greek gods and goddesses, "some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also were conversing with him. Some said, 'What does this babbler want to say?' Others said, 'He seems to be advocating foreign deities," because he preached Jesus and the resurrection'" (Acts 17:18). They thought that "Jesus" and "Anastasia" (Resurrection) were the names of some deities hitherto unknown to them. They got it half right, the "Jesus" part!
Among Protestants, the sermon is the main thing in church, but among Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, the sacraments and holy tradition are most important. I'd like to affirm that both are equally important. When a Protestant visits a Catholic mass or an Orthodox liturgy for the first time, he may hear just a five-minute homily or none at all and think - "Where was the sermon? Did I miss it when my mind was wandering?" And when a Catholic or Orthodox person visits a Protestant service, she wonders - "How could they leave out the most important thing, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ?" Again, the words of St. Paul:
"The cup of blessing which we bless, isn't it a partaking of the Blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn't it a partaking of the Body of Christ? Because we, who are many, are one bread, one body; for we all partake of the one bread. ... For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered ["traditioned" in Greek] to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'Take, eat. This is My Body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of Me.' In the same way he also took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My Blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of Me. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he doesn't discern the Lord's Body" (1 Corinthians 10:16-17 & 11:23-25, 29).
... and ...
"Now I declare to you, brothers, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain. For I delivered ["traditioned" in Greek] to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
So you see, both are true. It's not "either-or" - it's "both-and" - both the sermon and the sacraments are vitally important. The sermon without the sacraments is just words without power. And the sacraments without the sermon can degenerate into a meaningless ritual. Both are necessary! Why do the sacraments have saving power? Because Christ said so! For example -
If I were to become upset about people who speed in their cars in front of my home where there are little children in the neighborhood, and I would make a nice, white, recangular sign with the lettering "SPEED LIMIT 15 MPH" and put it on a post with flashing yellow lights next to the street, what will happen? In a day or two, a policeman will knock on my door and ask, "Are you the person who put up that sign out there? You don't have the authority to do that: you must pay a fine and take it down! Only the city council has the authority to have traffic signs put up." In the same way, only Christ and His appointed representatives have the power, the authority, to make those material elements - bread and wine - into the real Body and Blood of Christ.
But isn't simply believing in Christ enough? Again, St. Paul wrote - "For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on Him. For, 'Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:10-15a). The Greek word "send" is "apostello" - to be commissioned by an apostle, to be vested with the authority to preach the Gospel. So believing is tied to preaching and preaching is tied to being granted apostolic authority to do so. It's not "either-or" - it's "both-and."
St. Paul felt compelled to preach without pay - "For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about; for necessity is laid on me; but woe is to me, if I don't preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16). He even wrote to his young disciple Timothy - "Preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching" (2 Tim. 4:2). Some modern translations put it - "Preach the word when you feel like it and when you don't!" Sometimes we might be tired to the bone or just not feeling up to it. But JUST DO IT!
In my Hosken-News issues Ministry as Proclamation (kerygma / kerusso) - Part 1 and Ministry as Proclamation (kerygma / kerusso) - Part 2, I delve deeper into the meaning of the Greek verb "kerusso" - "preach" and "kerygma" - "proclamation." If you have time, give your attention to these words: we must not downplay either sermonizing or the sacraments!
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Christ is among us! He is and ever shall be!
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