Preaching in Tsunomic Times
Posted by David J. Wood on Friday, November 28, 2008
“We are like vacationers on the beach just before a tsunami hits. All we see is that the ocean has receded and suddenly there is a lot more sand.” I came across this image in the New York Times this past summer in the midst of a review of the new hit AMC series, “Mad Men.” The image has haunted me ever since—especially as the dire warnings and predictions of economic depression mount.
It does seem that the cultural sands are shifting and things seem eerily quiet as we wait to see where all this is headed or what is headed our way.
As the Sundays of Advent approach, it seems there is much to be considered and reconsidered. There is much apocalyptic talk out there these days and, as you well know, that is the language of Advent.
Advent 1
Mark 13: 24-37—What is the meaning of wakefulness, alertness in times like these?
Advent 2
Mark 1: 1-8—How do we hear and respond to the voice(s) crying in the wilderness of our day?
I Peter 3: 8-15—“Since all these things will be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness?”
Advent 3
John 1: 6-28—What does it mean to be a witness testifying to the light?
I Thess. 5:12-28—There is no better passage to look to for instruction on what is required of us in the living of these days
Advent 4
Luke 1: 26-38—In that time, in this time, in every time…the posture required of us: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
Preaching is always heard best when it resonates with the anxieties and concerns we bring with us into the sanctuary. But that is just the first step. Preaching must also seek to in corporate those concerns and anxieties into the larger and longer story of the good news. This is not to trivialize or minimize the present crisis, but to use the present crisis as an occasion for seeing our lives anew in light of the gospel. That is not easy or simple.