The divine presence in preaching : a homiletical analysis of contemporary Korean sermons

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The presence of God in preaching is one of the most important Reformed homiletical themes.However, contemporary homiletics and preaching ministry do not pay due attention to thistheme. More specifically speaking, contemporary Korean preaching also asks for a morecomprehensive homiletical foundation for the homiletically appropriate witness of the divinepresence in preaching. Based upon Dingeman's practical theological methodology, this studythus aims to describe and examine the practical realities of the witness of the divine presencein contemporary Korean preaching, and to make further some comprehensive normative andstrategic suggestions on this homiletical theme.In chapter 1, in order to prepare to analyze and explain the practical reality of the witness ofthe divine presence in Korean preaching, we constructed an appropriate sermon analysis framethat consists of the following three components: analysis norms (God, the preacher, theScriptures, and the audience), analysis targets (the five representative Korean preachers andtheir sermons - Yune-Sun Park, Yong-Gi Cho, Sun-Hee Kwak, Han-Hum Oak, and Dong-WonLee), and analysis variables (the religio-sociological background of the Korean corporatepersonality in relation to the four indigenous Korean religions - Shamanism, Taoism,Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism).Based upon this analytical frame, from chapter two till six, this study analyzed in detail fivesermons of representative Korean preachers with the guidance of the analytical questions:Yune-Sun Park (ch. 2), Yong-Gi Cho (ch. 3), Sun-Hee Kwak (ch. 4), Han-Hum Oak (ch. 5),and Dong-Won Lee (ch. 6), and observed several homiletical aspects of the witness of thedivine presence in contemporary Korean preaching. Through this detailed analysis of the fiverepresentative Korean preachers' sermons, we noted the fact that God-images implemented bythe preacher cannot help being confined by the specific pastoral interests or theologicalemphasis that the preacher has in mind, as raised from the existential experience of thepreacher, the theological emphasis, or pastoral context. However, without an appropriateconsideration of the four components of preaching, the witness of the divine presence cannotachieve the desirable sermonic results.With this homiletical necessity in mind, we discussed the normative foundation of the witnessof the divine presence in relation to the four components of preaching: God (ch. 8), theScriptures (ch. 9), the preacher (ch. 10), and the audience (ch. 11). After establishing anormative understanding of how each component is to be involved in the witness of the divinepresence, we have also made several strategic suggestions in relation to Korean preaching. In chapter 8, based upon the pneumatological dimension of preaching, we confirmed that thewitness of the divine presence should be rendered in a linguistic and ecclesial frame, andsuggested that God-images should be used based upon Christian narrative that brings about alinguistic and ecclesial collision between the identity narrative of the Christian communityand the individual's narrative in preaching.In chapter 9, in connection with the question of how the voice of the Bible can be involved inthe witness of the divine presence, we discussed the sacramental character of the Bible tomediate the divine presence to the Christian reader, and suggested that the reading of the Bibleshould make the transformative encounter with God happen to the reader.In chapter 10, we examined the question of how the voice of the preacher can beharmoniously involved in the witness of the divine presence, and paid attention to the threefactors which the preacher is aware of in preaching: God (spirituality), the audience (integrity),and self (subjectivity and conviction).In chapter 11, we tackled the question of how the audience can be involved in the witness ofthe divine presence. Here we firstly defined the audience in relation to the other threecomponents of preaching: in relation to God (theological, pneumatological, and eschatologicalbeing), to the Bible (hermeneutical being), and the preacher (communicative being). Inaddition to these definitions, we also defined the audience according to the reception axis ofthe Word: as an individual being (human heart and paradigmatic imagination), ecclesial andcommunal being (the divine presence through the pastoral ministry), and as one who isengaged in the world (socio-political responsibility to reflect the divine presence to the world).Based upon these definitions, we further suggested an appropriate communicative strategy forthe witness of the divine presence, which consists of the image of God who is present insuffering, the communicative frame of the poor in spirit, and the four linguistic dimensions ofconfessional, evocative, hermeneutic, and imaginative witness.Through these normative and strategic suggestions, we confirmed and suggested that thewitness of the divine presence should involve comprehensively all four components ofpreaching: God, the Scripture, the preacher, and the audience so as to sound like a sermonicsymphony in which all four voices harmoniously take part in the witness of the divinepresence, while retaining their own homiletical value.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University