One interesting phenomenon within Christianity is 'just' Christians. I often have a tick sheet running alongside the notes that I am taking during a lecture or sermon. These along with the 'I always' are sources of additional fun, especially if the thing I'm listening to is boring.
The , "Lord, we just want you pray that you will just come and . . . . . and Lord we just ask . . . and just . . . . " The best I've heard was fourteen in one prayer!
The 'I always' speaker is usually full of stuff about themselves. They appear to be able to turn any passage back to themselves, their family, their anything, not as an illustration but as a platform for themselves. The reason we preach is to bring the word of God into sharper focus. It's the same with being a theologian. What we're supposed to do with theology is to make the difficulty things accessible and the simple things commonplace in our own lives and the the lives of those with whom we share.
Theological thinking is about challenging and testing God's word. It is about pushing the barriers of our understanding and seeing if it means what people think it means. It is about pushing the barriers and seeing if it means what we'd like it to mean. All too often it doesn't but when that happens.
Let me share an experience:
During one of my forays into theological study, I was in a lecture where the speaker introduced a woman apostle, Junia, whom they claimed would change the position of women's ministry. As the lecture went on, one of my colleagues asked some probing questions about this newly found person, none of which the person lecturing could answer. Exasperated and obviously a little under pressure by their inability to put any flesh on the bones thus far displayed we were graced with words along the lines of, "Well, I don't care if this is right or not, I'm going to use it and see that it will make a difference to women's ministry and position in the Church!" Didn't win many converts (male or female) to their position that day!
When we preach we have to understand the word we are bringing, we need to 'fix the hermeneutic', that is to understand the time, place, characters and circumstances surrounding the passage (and book) and use them to put into context what we are considering.
Having done this we look at the 'telos'. As Donald Guthrie used to say, "Is there a meaning in this passage for us and, if so, what is it?" If we don't know, how on earth can we tell others?
May God make us good, faithful and trustworthy workers of His word. May we handle those things that might deny our own attitudes or actions honestly - seeking truth rather than justification, seeking right understanding and righteousness.
Happy Mothering Sunday
No comments:
Post a Comment