Sunday, July 05, 2009
The main things
The chief problem with modern homiletics isn’t so much that the wrong things are said from the lectern – although that certainly happens from time to time – but that the main things get left out. Take this morning’s Gospel reading, for example. It’s primarily about faith. St. Mark situates the story of Jesus’ disbelieving hometown just after the stories of Jairus and the hemorrhaging woman. That's not an accident. In the latter instances, Jesus responds to the faith of His petitioners by performing healing miracles; in the former, he refuses, and "He marveled because of their unbelief." Jesus won't dispense His divine power like pixie dust, but grants it to those who believe in Him. Yet how many of you heard about "discerning the prophets among us" or being "open to strangers" this morning? Sure, one can extrapolate from the story that we shouldn’t shoot the messengers of today, and that those messengers come in a variety of guises. But it’s primarily a story about faith in Jesus Christ. Like I wrote, it isn’t so much that wrong things are said, it’s that the main things get left out.
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12 comments:
We got a homily on Sunday about saying what God tells us, Communion, and Confession. My mom got one about how when people don't like what you tell them because it's true, they often call you names. (Plus lots of explanations of the readings.)
Personally, I thought it was a highly suitable set of readings for priest-transfer time.
wow rich, were you at the 12:30 at st. gertrude's?
Nope. The 11 at New Smyrna, but it appears we had similar experiences.
do they all get some cheesy version of "Homiletic & Pastoral Review"?
I preached on the Second Reading: Paul's willing boast in his weakneeses that Christ might be made strong through him.
yea Fr. Schnippel! that's one i could have used!
I've often wondered why more Priests don't just read Fr. Ronald Knox's short & pointed sermons...(-* Tom G.
Tom G.,
Are they compiled in a single volume?
Hi Rich,
They are not to my knowledge, but I was thinking of "Lightening Meditations" in particular, and I think many would reap loads hearing anything from "The Hidden Stream" or "In Soft Garments"...(-* Tom G.
Thanks, Tom. I found Fr. Knox's The Epistles and Gospels for Sundays and Holydays, Translation and Commentary on Amazon's marketplace.
forgot "Meditations on the Psalms"...Tom G.
Haven't read the one you mention - Thanks - I'm sure this sounds petty but I always think during an awful homily, why reinvent the wheel when there are so darn many great wheels extant to choose from? Tom G.
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