Meaty Monday: The ethics of preaching.
by Jim ~ April 21st, 2008. Tags: meaty-monday, preaching.I had a really hard time with my sermon this last week. I preached on two 1 Peter passages 1 Peter 2:18-25; 3:8-12 and addressed the practices of non-violence and non-retaliation.
The essential core of my sermon came from these verses:
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps…When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
In my sermon I pointed out that as I hear about events that are happening in the news I’m more and more concerned that we are spiraling into a society where violence and retaliation are becoming the norm. In contrast, Peter offers a different model for Christians, one in which these two things are not the norm. Peter clearly expects Christians to live by a different standard than the world around them.
Here’s the basic problem I’ve been dealing with: I offered no caveats in my sermon. Now, I did that for the very specific reason that I didn’t want to water down the message by saying it applies to this and this, but it doesn’t apply to that and that. I didn’t want people trying to figure out the various loopholes that might be available to get out of the difficulty of the message.
But that choice of mine may have come at an expense. It may very well have meant that someone who is suffering in an inappropriate and abusive relationship (though I’m not aware that anyone is in our congregation) or someone who has suffered some form of abuse (which is more likely in my congregation) may very well have heard the message, “Just endure it. It’s your calling as a Christian.”
This raises in my mind an ethical concern in preaching. I don’t remember this sort of issue or concern being raised or addressed in seminary, but I think it happens all the time. At the expense of making one important point, you may very well have to minimize contrasting viewpoints. So how do you go about weighing those things and determining the greater good?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Great post, Jim, and very thought-provoking. Dave is preaching through 1 Peter during the Easter season and I told him he had quite a challenge before him, precisely for the question you raise. So perhaps he should be the one commenting, not me! I’m sensitive to the question you raise. I’ve simply heard too many stories.
I read your sermon, though, and I didn’t hear anything that could be taken, as you put it, as “Just endure it. It’s your calling as a Christian.” I think you did an excellent job of pointing out the context of 1 Peter and that the Christians were being persecuted and abused because they were Christian, not because of their gender, ethnicity, etc.
Maybe it’s not an either/or though. Maybe it’s a both/and - you can proclaim what you are called to proclaim, and also include a sentence or two that states that Peter isn’t talking about staying in an abusive relationship. You can do both, I think, without watering it down. For what it’s worth.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
thanks kim for taking the time to read my sermon and for your words of reassurance. I do think it’s important to reflect on that kind of stuff and to be aware of it. I also think that you should never take a preacher at their word from one sermon…meaning there is a larger body of evidence to be evaluated and consider than what is just said in one sermon.
Now it’s on to the question of jesus preaching to the spirits…think i’ll just try to avoid that one altogether…