ADVENT 205 THE PROGRESSIVE PREACHER THEME
Follow the Star: The Power of Imagination
Imagination
Reading the Bible attentively and imaginatively
Reading Scripture is an art — a creative discipline that requires engagement and imagination,
An excellent resource for preachers:
Davis, Ellen F.; Richard B. Hays. The Art of Reading Scripture . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.
Imagination is the capacity to envision the existence of something that does not yet exist; we see this in the imagination of the artist. So it makes sense to say that the creation of the world, the covenant between the Creator of heaven and earth and an old man named Abraham, the creation of a nation of priests out of a band of runaway slaves, the incarnation of the Godhead in human flesh, the explosion of death’s finality, the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s covenant with Israel — all these and more are remarkably imaginative acts on God’s part, acts through which God envisions and effects something totally new, totally unimaginable before it was brought into being. As readers of the stories of these imaginative acts, we will find our own imaginations expanded and transformed. Scripture will claim us and make us into new people.
Prominent among these virtues are receptivity, humility, truthfulness, courage, charity, humor, and imagination.
Imagination has the capacity to create vision over time.
Because the event of incarnation has happened, we can live a new kind of life. Or, to back up for a moment, because the event has happened, we can begin to imagine a new way of being, and through that imagination, our hearts, minds, souls, and strength are laid open for transfiguration. “Imagination” as used in this essay articulates that moment when presuppositions, expectations, and worldviews are broken open — broken open so forcefully and expansively that individuals find themselves in a surprising place, beyond that which was theretofore conceived. Perceptions shift so radically that a “third way” is seen through dilemma, or a new whole exceeds the sum of its parts, or a transcendent vision is gained, albeit fleetingly. “Imagination” describes the capacity for self-transcendence when hearts are opened to hear the word of God.
Davis, Ellen F.; Richard B. Hays. The Art of Reading Scripture (p. 130). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.
As you consider your own contribution to the proclamation of the kerygma, it may be helpful to enlist the aid of sermon preparation exercises in order to raise self-awareness about — and to gain critical distance from — your own preaching. The following exercise is proposed to help you incorporate the suggestion to preach the basics: → As you read through the text to be preached, and as you gather your thoughts on ways in which it might be preached, think about what creedal affirmation correlates with your ideas. Whether it is a point of the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, or the Westminster Confession, think about how it supports and directs your explication. Simultaneously, think about how the biblical text gives dimension to, illustrates, and makes sense of the creedal affirmation. This exercise may sound pedantic, and you may worry about boring your more seasoned congregants, but I am continually amazed at how refreshing it is to hear a robust, cohesive explanation of even the most fundamental points of Christian faith when those points are drawn out of Scripture with a passion for showing their interrelatedness and mutuality. Davis, Ellen F.; Richard B. Hays. The Art of Reading Scripture (p. 131). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.
2. Conceive of the sermon as an “environment” for wondering, rumination, and imagination. Those who find their way into the post-Christendom church — believers and unbelievers alike — need a hospitable environment in which to ask questions. Those questions, which often spring from deep, existential concerns, must be taken seriously if God’s saving word is to be heard in a convincing and compelling way. An environment that treats questions hospitably, as the starting point of conversation, becomes a place for wondering, rumination, and imagination. In such an environment, a variety of answers can be weighed and considered; the meaning that thus unfolds carries authenticity for having been personally integrated rather than adopted by rote. Indeed, the sermon may itself be conceived as a hospitable environment for those who find their way into the pews. Understood as environment, the sermon is released from the flattened realm of explanation, explication, moral directive, or, indeed, any “thing” to be communicated. Rather, understood as environment, the sermon achieves a kind of spatial quality, becomes a safe space in which hearers can contemplate something foreign and desire its becoming familiar, can approach something threatening and welcome its challenge, can chance upon something unexpected and delight in its turning of the mind. The sermon as hospitable environment for wondering, rumination, and imagination encourages growth and change out of desire and delight.