Preaching is hard. This is the double plus profound conclusion I have come to. It is embarrassing to read back over many of my old sermons. Some I still like. Many I think were just...bad. I'm sure you've had similar experience. The preachers I respect the most are those who struggle with it the most and don't rest on their laurels.
The second double plus profound conclusion I have come to about preaching is that the only way to learn to be a better preacher is to read the sermons of the better preachers. I am honestly shocked that my seminary homiletics classes had almost none of this. I think one professor assigned us to read a couple of sermons. Maybe you had a different experience, but in my classes we spent a lot more time on technique, exegetical studies, Lowry Loops, object lessons, yadayadayada. I learned something or other from all of it, I suppose, but I really wish that I had started my reading of good preachers a lot earlier.
This is one of the main reasons to observe the Historic Lectionary. When I'm called to speak to pastors about worship or liturgy I always bring this up. Even if you are a fan of the post-Vatican II three year series, why not try out the Historic Lectionary for one year? If you do, every week you can read the sermons of Augustine and Chrysostom through the NPNF series (online for free), Luther (online for free), and countless others through the Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers volumes, and the Gospel volumes of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. This is a year-long course in homiletics vastly superior to any you have taken so far. I guarantee it. And if you don't love the Historic Lectionary after that year, go back to the 3-year series with what you have learned.
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Thanks for this wise counsel. I'm happy to report that more recently ('07-'08) the homiletics professors (and I have in mind especially Professor Schmitt) have stressed reading others' sermons--both meditatively and critically, seeking to learn as well as be spiritually edified.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your comment about the lectionaries: forgive me for being obtuse, but why can't those homilies of Augustine, et al., be read in conjunction with the texts of the 3-year lectionary just as well?
Dear Ryan:
ReplyDeleteIf I may weigh in - I believe you can (and should) do this if you are using the 3-year. However, the more I preach on the one-year series the more I appreciate the wisdom of the matching of the texts. Historically speaking, the OT lessons that we have today are often not part of the ancient lectionary (as the Gospel and the Epistle are). However, the juxtaposition of certain texts provide fodder for the preacher that may not be there when the texts are isolated and recombined with others. In other words, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
I also find that the one-year series is more consistent with the flow of the church year (an admittedly subjective observation). There have been times when I have looked at the three-year series texts and they seemed to have no common theme between the readings. When I meditate on the texts in concert with one another, I often look (for example) at common words used in the texts and ponder what the texts have in common with each other. These thoughts often become instant outlines for sermons.
Not to say this can't be done with the three-year series, but my experience (again subjective) is that the one-year series is like a well-worn pear of jeans - there is no need to "break them in" or stretch them to make them fit. The one-year series is already broken in and well-worn - and with modern technology (as Fr. Heath pointed out) we can sit that the feet of homiletical masters and see how our fathers from the past wove the texts together.
Fr. Ryan,
ReplyDeleteYou can find quite a bit of commentary on the three year texts - but not many *sermons* on all those texts. This is especially true of Luther. But you can dial up several of his sermons on any Gospel in the Historic Lectionary.
And there is quite a bit of difference between a sermon and a commentary. . .
+HRC
. . . which just goes to show how very ancient the Historic Lectionary is, by the way.
ReplyDeleteAnd one more thing: in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series, you will actually find quotations from *sermons* on the Historic Lectionary series. Even in that series, you just won't find quotations from sermons on many of the three year texts. The reason is simple: there are not many recorded because the "ancient Christians" were preaching on the Historic Lectionary!
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Dear Father Hollywood, thanks for your (admittedly subjective!) observations. I definitely concur about the value of the texts "matching"; for that reason, I more enjoy preaching during the festal season of the 3-year lectionary. On the other hand, the "lectio continua" that prevails in ordinary time, especially with the Epistle lessons, is a wonderful opportunity for teaching through a book of the Bible, more or less. Of course, if I could count on 100% attendance in Bible class, this would be a moot point.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to the difference between commentary and sermon, Pastor Curtis, I grant your point. I did look up the NPNF series at CCEL, and Augustine and Chrysostom are both organized according to book of the Bible (with decidedly uneven representation among the books and even Gospels) rather than Sunday in the Church Year (as are Luther's in, at least, the house postils that I have). Are other collections of their sermons so organized?
Thank you for your input. I write with genuine interest, having recently come away from the Doxology gathering out here with "read more sermons" as one of my take-away goals.
Fr. Tinetti,
ReplyDeleteThe books you want to grab for sermons are the Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers series. These are arranged by week of the church year as are Luther's postils.
The sermons/homilies in NPNF from Augustine and Chrysostom are very interesting. They are sermons, mostly, from weekday Matins at which the NT is read (OT is read a Vespers). This was the ancient church's "Bible Study" time. You will note a marked change in style when moving to the Sunday sermons which are *always* on the Gospel of the day.
+HRC
Fr. Tinetti,
ReplyDeleteOne more thing: You don't have to wait for Advent to try out the Historic Lectionary: Lent would be a great time to begin your year long trial.
+HRC
As a layman who studies sermons and preachers as an historian, I agree with Pastor Curtis's advice. Read Luther's sermons, please. If you are so inclined, read some of the sermons of great medieval preachers like Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard's sermons and many other Cistercian preachers are accessible in English. Definitely read Augustine, but always remember your vows to uphold the teaching of the Book of Concord.
ReplyDeleteLet me add to the other virtues of the historic series the value of repetition for the preacher. I know I benefit by seeing the same texts over and over again, and the shorter interval in between the same texts (one year vs. three years) gives me steadier growth, I think. Seeing a text once every three years (especially when it may or may not be a fitting choice for the day or festival) just doesn't do it for me. This catechetical aspect to the repetition also aids the people as well -- just this week in catechism instruction I drew on three or four different historic Gospels in reviewing the Second Article with the kids. I know it's good for them.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have preached the one year series (the first several years of my life as a Pastor) and I do appreciate the wisdom and benefits of the historic (not an entirely accurate term but I will go with it), I have preached on the three year series since LW in 1982 and so 30 years. I have grown very accustomed to it and it would now represent a cultural shift of some magnitude for this old man. I certainly do not mean to disparage your call to try it out but I do NOT think it is wise to use a lectionary for a short term and then switch. I think it is far more honest to change for at least a full 3 year cycle since the the one year series represents changes in color and church year that do require some teaching -- it is not just the substitution of some readings. So, if you are going to try it, give it three years and not just one.
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