T&T Clark Library of Homiletics – Serie

McLaughlin-Sheasby engages with how suffering shapes theological imagination, and the impact that the traumatic wounds of others has on preaching. McLaughlin-Sheasby uses the story of Job - a man whose life has been destroyed “for no reason,” as God admits in Job 2:3 - to develop an ‘enfleshed’ homiletic, which problematizes ‘God-talk’ in the presence of radical suffering. McLaughlin-Sheasby argues that what Job needs are friends who are willing to see his wounds and bear faithful witness—but that none of them are willing to transform their theological positions in order to speak truly about Job's situation.In Job 42:7, God affirms Job in his truth-telling, while scolding the friends for their refusal to speak truly. In this, McLaughlin-Sheasby finds a strong guiding principle for preachers: the capacity to speak truly of God is dependent upon the capacity to speak truly of the suffering of others. In other words, the degree to which preachers can faithfully speak of God in this world depends upon willingness to be confronted and transformed by the wounds of others. On this basis, McLaughlin-Sheasby proposes a theological and practical vision of preaching that is ethically responsive to those beyond the pulpit, asking the question: what does it look like for preachers to become faithful witnesses to the suffering of others?

Ronald J. Allen argues that the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Romans to address specifically the gentiles in the congregation in Rome. Allen suggests that this was because the gentiles exhibited arrogant behavior towards Jewish members of the community, thereby undermining a primary facet of the early church — to witness to the community of love and mutual support that God seeks for all.Allen shows readers how Paul points the gentiles to the faithfulness of God, who invites them to recognize and live according to the grace of God, shown to them through Jesus Christ. In this pastorally engaged work, Allen not only provides historical commentary on Romans but also helps preachers and scholars make connections between arrogance and its destructiveness in communities today, as well as inviting congregations to participate in the grace that makes possible a loving and mutually respectful community.