Open AccessA case of therapeutic preaching done well: Theological diagnostics in Von Balthasar’s sermon, ‘Joy in the Midst of Anxiety’
Author(s) -
Neil Pembroke
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
hts teologiese studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.282
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 2072-8050
pISSN - 0259-9422
DOI - 10.4102/hts.v75i4.5393
Subject(s) - sermon , proclamation , theology , homily , philosophy , pulpit , power (physics) , anxiety , psychology , law , physics , quantum mechanics , psychiatry , political science
It is argued that the proper way to construct and deliver a therapeutic sermon is to take a theocentric approach. Preaching, rightly understood, is proclamation of the good news that God has redeemed the world through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is by definition theological. Feeling pressure to be relevant, engaging and contemporary, a significant number of preachers fall into administering mini-doses of psychological self-help from the pulpit. Hans Urs von Balthasar’s homily, ‘Joy in the Midst of Anxiety’, is offered as a positive alternative. The sermon is theologically and homiletically analysed to show why it is an excellent example of theocentric therapeutic preaching.