Dei Verbum similarly encourages all clerics (preachers) to immerse themselves in the reading and studying of the sacred text lest any of them become “an empty preacher of the Word of God to others, not being a hearer of the Word in his own heart”[1] when he ought to share the wealth and riches of the divine Word to those committed to his care, especially the liturgical assembly.[2] The primary duty of the preacher is the proclamation of the Word of God.
The seminary formation remains a point of reminder on this primary duty of clerics. This is very evident as we can see from the lives of the early Apostles: “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.” (Acts 6:2)
In the case of a homily whose theme is on one of the doctrines of the faith or the feast within the Liturgical Season, the preacher must be equipped with the history and foundation of that doctrine and Feast and Season before he can interpret and communicate the message.
The theological competence of a preacher is called to question when his attempt to doing Christology suggests that the “Christological Councils never took place, or if at all they took place, their doctrinal positions are no longer relevant; scripture scholars developing hermeneutics without reference to the magisterium.”[3]
On Trinity Sunday, many preachers, year after year, continue to retell the story of St. Augustine on how a young boy wanted to empty an ocean into a little hole. Is that the type of message or homily that meets the yearning of the assembly? Is that a message that will make hearts burn like the two disciples on their way to Emmaus?
Preachers need to widen their horizon in order to have content for their homily and not run dry on the pulpit. What the preacher is expected to proclaim in the homily is the faith of the Church and not his own. “Consequently, the more familiar the preacher is with the history of scriptural interpretation and the development of the church’s doctrine, the more capable he is”[4] of contextualizing the Word to his own time and audience.
Hence, the communication of a message “has a content, and its content is a teaching. The preacher is a communicator of teaching, and teachings are doctrine. Preaching misses its target and fails to perform its function when it is lacking in doctrinal explication….”[5] Having properly researched and retrieved the content of preaching, the next step for the preacher is interpretation.
[1] Dei Verbum, no. 25.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Anthony Akinwale, African Theology and Dogmatic Responsibility for the Christian God, op. cit.
[4] NCCB, Fulfilled in Your Hearing, op. cit., p.13.
[5] Anthony Akinwale, African Theology and Dogmatic Responsibility for the Christian God, op. cit.
