This blog is excerpted from an article by Rev. Dr. David R. Schmitt that was published in a previous edition of Concordia Pulpit Resources.
It is amazing to see how many literary forms are present in these writings of Holy Scripture, including oracles and parables, letters and laments, psalms, paraenesis, proverbs, and prayers. God, in his wisdom, has chosen to speak in a variety of ways to his people. Exegetes are aware that recognizing the literary form of a text is fundamental to its interpretation. More recently, homileticians have begun to contend that recognizing the literary form of a text may also be fundamental to its proclamation. In genre-based preaching studies, the literary form of a text can guide the preacher in structuring the sermon. The preacher considers the function of that form in its original setting and creatively seeks to appropriate aspects of that form and that function in preaching for hearers today. This article considers one such genre-based sermon structure: the proverbial design. The proverbial sermon structure arises from considering and creatively appropriating for preaching the form and the function of proverbs within Scripture.
When considering how the form and the function of a proverb can be creatively appropriated in preaching, preachers need to overcome two stereotypes of proverbial discourse: (1) the assumption that proverbs are found only in the book that bears their name; and (2) the assumption that proverbs are useful only for directing future action. The first stereotype is problematic because it limits those times when a preacher might find the proverbial sermon design appropriate for genre-based preaching; it is a rare occasion when one finds readings from Proverbs appointed in the lectionary, and free-text preaching from the Book of Proverbs is perhaps rarer still. Upon closer reading, however, one recognizes that proverbs occur throughout Scripture. Nestled within the Lord’s instructions to the Twelve, for example, is proverbial discourse regarding discipleship: “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Mt 10:24). Within the fitful watching of the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, one hears that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26:41). As Paul counsels the Corinthians, he teaches that “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor 9:6). The preaching of the prophets, the sayings of Jesus, and the writings of the apostles are frequently punctuated by proverbs as God seeks to inform the minds and to transform the lives of his people. Recognizing this proliferation of proverbs throughout Scripture opens the eyes of the preacher to the greater possibilities for preaching when proclaiming these texts. The first, stereotype, then, is rather easily overcome by a more careful reading of Scripture. The second stereotype, however, requires more explanation.
Thomas Long notes that people often approach proverbs as small bits of wisdom to use as guidance for daily living. One hears a proverb and walks away with a nugget of Law to apply in the future. This type of thinking makes preaching on proverbs deadly. The proverb’s force is reduced to a nagging admonition and the preacher’s sermon to a Law-driven lecture on godly living that generates either pride or despair. If he approaches the proverb as only useful for guidance in future living, the preacher is left to reinforce the need for this wisdom with threats and promises of how it will work. God’s people walk away without assurance of God’s gracious work on their behalf, clinging only to the fleeting security of human resolutions to do better. No, proverbs are not to be read first and foremost as a means for guiding future action. Rather, they are to be read as a way of recognizing God’s work in the past.
Proverbs can be defined as general truths derived from godly observation of experience. When considered in the fear of the Lord, such general truths become formative for future action. Defined in this way, proverbs facilitate reflection on the past (i.e., a godly observation of experience) before consideration of the future. As Thomas Long proposes, proverbs ask the reader to look backward before looking forward. Instead of turning one’s eyes to the future and giving one a rule book to follow, proverbs begin their work by turning one’s eyes to the past and asking one to see the way things are. In this way they have a formative character, enabling one to see life with the eyes of God. Such godly observation of experience reveals general truths. A proverb is not restricted to a single event, located specifically in one place and time, but instead surveys a history of events and begins to point out a tendency in the way things are. Alyce McKenzie describes this quality as the hermeneutical openness of the proverb: although arising out of a specific occasion, the proverb expresses a generalized experience that embraces a variety of similar situations. Using present-tense verbs and using general classes of characters (e.g., the wise person and the fool) rather than specific people (e.g., Karyn or the merchant located on the corner of First and Euclid), the proverb invites one to consider not simply what happened in one place at one time but what happens repeatedly, what forms the ongoing truth of a situation and can continue to happen, even today. Proverbs, therefore, work for the formation of a mind-set in the hearer, a way of seeing the world and the work of God within it.
Such wisdom, however, functions as wisdom only when joined to the fear of the Lord. Proverbs require discernment for proper application. One cannot simply pick up a proverb and apply it to any situation. A pair of young lovers, dropping out of high school, lacking employment, and moving away from home, would be foolish to quote to their parents: “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it” (Prov 15:17). As Solomon states: “Like a lame [person’s] legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools” (Prov 26:7). A proverb does not universally apply to every situation. Rather, proverbs are to be used with discernment, recognizing the times and the places wherein they apply.
For such discernment, one does well to consider the refrain in the Book of Proverbs: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” A discerning use of proverbs begins in a proper relationship with God. In terms of sermon proclamation, proverbs can best serve the hearers only within the context of God’s redemptive work in Christ. They invite the preacher and his people into Gospel-based reflection: God’s people ponder the past, where general truths arise from a godly observation of experience, and they reflect on the present, God’s gracious actions on their behalf, before they consider the future. Within this context of discernment, proverbs may serve as guidance for future action.
The creative appropriation of proverbs for preaching, therefore, seeks to incorporate proverbial reflection into the sermon. The godly observation of past experience and the present proclamation of God’s gracious presence form a context for proverbial hearing. Proverbs do more than inform the hearers of rules for daily living; they transform the hearers, inviting them into formative godly reflection through which the acts of daily living become the places of God’s wonderful work.
Scripture: ESV®.
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