Restoring a scriptural imagination in a secular age
by Timothy O’Malley, Living Church:
At present, there are three primary modes of interpreting the Scriptures, all of which are fundamentally related to the effects of secularization as experienced within parochial life. The first is operative within the academy and may best be described as exclusive attention to historical-critical exegesis. Open up any serious commentary, and the author inevitably attends primarily to the history of the redaction of the text, philological history of words, and perhaps references to other parts of the biblical canon that the author is drawing upon.
This work is by no means a foolhardy enterprise. Historical-critical exegesis has a necessary task in biblical hermeneutics. But, as Joseph Ratzinger writes in Jesus of Nazareth:
It [Historical-critical exegesis] attempts to identify and to understand the past—as it was in itself—with the greatest possible precision, in order then to find out what the author could have said and intended to say in the context of the mentality and events of the time. … [T]he one thing it cannot do is to make it into something present today—that would be overstepping its bounds.[i]
In this sense, the privileging of historical-critical exegesis desiccates the biblical text, handling it as evidence of historical and literary proceedings rather than as a sacramental encounter with the living Word. Because the text is not understood fundamentally as a narrative of divine action in human history, it ceases functioning in the present.[ii]
This creeps into preaching in small ways. Preachers now speak about the intentions of the author of the Gospel of Mark rather than Jesus Christ. To the listener of the preached Word, the approach erects an obstacle to an authentic encounter with divine love as mediated through the text. The Bible becomes a memory that has no connection to the present, breaking the chain of memory.
Also: another perspective from a Baptist preacher. On sermon application: Interview with Mark Dever. From The Gospel Coalition.
If a preacher is doing his job well, then he’s not only explaining what a text means, but also applying that meaning to the lives of his hearers. In this episode of Pastors’ Talk, Jonathan Leeman sits down with Mark Dever to talk about the difficult task of sermon application.
Do most preachers apply their sermons well? Is application something more than explaining the meaning of a particular text? “I don’t apply the text; that’s the Holy Spirit’s job – ” What do you say to that?
Four case studies in sermon application: 1. Exodus 20 and the 8th Commandment 2. David & Goliath 3. Psalm 1 4. Jesus Raising Lazarus
Describe the application grid you use. What role does personal prayer and a membership directory play in sermon application?
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