Pratt on interpreting as Christians...
As someone who will seek ordination after finishing my studies, I am extremely interested in how one can apply biblical scholarship within an ecclesiastical setting. This is especially true of preaching. I am always thinking about how my studies in the Hebrew Bible can be fruitful in the pulpit.
One of the key issues with preaching the Hebrew Bible is how to interpret/apply it as Christians. Too often we moralize its stories and lift up certain characters as models of good or bad behavior. Ironically, in doing so we often forget to make the most important hermeneutical move that we can make as Christians: bringing the Hebrew Bible into contact with the person and work of Jesus Christ. As Christians, by definition we think that the world, time, reality, etc. all revolve around Jesus. Yet when we seek to apply the stories of the Hebrew Bible, it is easy to sidestep the Messiah and draw some homiletical analogy between Ancient Israel's situation and our own. While that's all fine and good as it goes, such is not a distinctly Christian move.
Let me explain with a brief example from my own preaching experience. Early in my seminary career, I preached a sermon on Jacob and Laban's argument at Mizpah (Gen. 31). Following good procedure, I sent a recording of it to my pastoral mentor. A couple of weeks later, I got a call from him, and he was full of praise. Phrases like "well done" came out quickly, but after this short burst of praise, he paused and said, "However, there's one thing that bothers me about this sermon. You only mentioned Jesus once, as something of an add on. Minus that one place you could have preached this entire sermon in a synagogue." He then went on to encourage me to always make Christ central in all of my sermons.
Initially, I was not quite sure what to think of this comment. At one level, I understood where he was coming from, but on another level I kept thinking, "But isn't it eisegesis to cram Jesus into every passage?" Looking back now on this incident a few years later with (hopefully) a bit more perspective and wisdom, I think understand now what my mentor was saying. My preaching professors at Calvin Seminary used to say it best: "We do not preach a text. We preach the gospel of Jesus Christ." Now, to be sure one can easily abuse this principle. One has only to think of the ghastly "Jesus-is-the-answer-to-every-question" kind of sermons. Nonetheless, as Christians we confess that Jesus Messiah is the center of history, the One that the Hebrew Scriptures anticipate. Thus, our preaching must reflect this if it is to be distinctly Christian.
Yet the question still remains: how does one do this without succumbing to shallow "Jesus-is-the-answer" cliches? Richard Pratt, Jr. in his book He Gave Us Stories offers a helpful suggestion. He writes:
In much the same way, the lordship of Christ colors everything we read in Old Testament stories. The basic Christian confession "Jesus is Lord" (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3) forms a pivotal hermeneutical consideration whenever we direct these texts to modern life. Christ brought the world into existence (Colossians 1:16); He sustains it day by day (Colossians 1:17); He is the end of all things (Romans 11:36). As followers of Christ, we must strive to see how every Old Testament narrative reveals His lordship over us. Every application is a personal response to Christ Himself.
How can we make Christ the center of our applications? Interconnections between the original meaning of Old Testament narratives and Christ are vast. No single approach will cover all relevant issues. Yet one helpful strategy is to ask how Old Testament stories anticipate Christ's three offices: Prophet, Priest, and King. (346)
Expanding on this later in the light of redemptive history, Pratt elaborates:
Distinctions among the inauguration, continuation, and consummation of the Christian theocracy present us with three options every time we apply Old Testament stories to our day. We may look at the past, present, or future work of Christ on our behalf. We may ask: 1) How does the passage offer insight into Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King in His first coming? 2) How does it apply to the present continuation of Christ's prophetic, priestly, and royal offices? 3) How does the passage shed light on the consummation of Christ's prophetic, priestly, and royal ministry at His second coming? (354)
I think Pratt is onto something here, and I look forward to trying this strategy out in the coming years in my sermon preparation.
One of the key issues with preaching the Hebrew Bible is how to interpret/apply it as Christians. Too often we moralize its stories and lift up certain characters as models of good or bad behavior. Ironically, in doing so we often forget to make the most important hermeneutical move that we can make as Christians: bringing the Hebrew Bible into contact with the person and work of Jesus Christ. As Christians, by definition we think that the world, time, reality, etc. all revolve around Jesus. Yet when we seek to apply the stories of the Hebrew Bible, it is easy to sidestep the Messiah and draw some homiletical analogy between Ancient Israel's situation and our own. While that's all fine and good as it goes, such is not a distinctly Christian move.
Let me explain with a brief example from my own preaching experience. Early in my seminary career, I preached a sermon on Jacob and Laban's argument at Mizpah (Gen. 31). Following good procedure, I sent a recording of it to my pastoral mentor. A couple of weeks later, I got a call from him, and he was full of praise. Phrases like "well done" came out quickly, but after this short burst of praise, he paused and said, "However, there's one thing that bothers me about this sermon. You only mentioned Jesus once, as something of an add on. Minus that one place you could have preached this entire sermon in a synagogue." He then went on to encourage me to always make Christ central in all of my sermons.
Initially, I was not quite sure what to think of this comment. At one level, I understood where he was coming from, but on another level I kept thinking, "But isn't it eisegesis to cram Jesus into every passage?" Looking back now on this incident a few years later with (hopefully) a bit more perspective and wisdom, I think understand now what my mentor was saying. My preaching professors at Calvin Seminary used to say it best: "We do not preach a text. We preach the gospel of Jesus Christ." Now, to be sure one can easily abuse this principle. One has only to think of the ghastly "Jesus-is-the-answer-to-every-question" kind of sermons. Nonetheless, as Christians we confess that Jesus Messiah is the center of history, the One that the Hebrew Scriptures anticipate. Thus, our preaching must reflect this if it is to be distinctly Christian.
Yet the question still remains: how does one do this without succumbing to shallow "Jesus-is-the-answer" cliches? Richard Pratt, Jr. in his book He Gave Us Stories offers a helpful suggestion. He writes:
In much the same way, the lordship of Christ colors everything we read in Old Testament stories. The basic Christian confession "Jesus is Lord" (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3) forms a pivotal hermeneutical consideration whenever we direct these texts to modern life. Christ brought the world into existence (Colossians 1:16); He sustains it day by day (Colossians 1:17); He is the end of all things (Romans 11:36). As followers of Christ, we must strive to see how every Old Testament narrative reveals His lordship over us. Every application is a personal response to Christ Himself.
How can we make Christ the center of our applications? Interconnections between the original meaning of Old Testament narratives and Christ are vast. No single approach will cover all relevant issues. Yet one helpful strategy is to ask how Old Testament stories anticipate Christ's three offices: Prophet, Priest, and King. (346)
Expanding on this later in the light of redemptive history, Pratt elaborates:
Distinctions among the inauguration, continuation, and consummation of the Christian theocracy present us with three options every time we apply Old Testament stories to our day. We may look at the past, present, or future work of Christ on our behalf. We may ask: 1) How does the passage offer insight into Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King in His first coming? 2) How does it apply to the present continuation of Christ's prophetic, priestly, and royal offices? 3) How does the passage shed light on the consummation of Christ's prophetic, priestly, and royal ministry at His second coming? (354)
I think Pratt is onto something here, and I look forward to trying this strategy out in the coming years in my sermon preparation.
posted by Nevada @ 4:57 PM
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