The Eloquence of Grace: Joseph Sittler and the Preaching Life

by James M. Childs Jr. (Editor), Richard Lischer (Editor)

Overview

Joseph A. Sittler (1904-1987) was one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century, distinguished for his pioneering work in ecology and for his preeminence as a preacher. He gave both the Beecher Lectures at Yale and the Noble Lectures at Harvard. As the "preacher's theologian," Sittler approached the interpretation of Scripture with a clear understanding of current critical scholarship, but also in the freedom of the gospel at the center of Scripture and with the humility of a theologian of the cross. In following the trajectory of the text into the preaching situation he gave a lively, timeless, and eloquent expression to the fact that the interpretation of texts is in the service of proclamation. This collection of readings from Sittler's rich legacy contains a great many presentations and sermons that have never before appeared in print. Theologically serious preaching, close attention to language, engagement with the best of sacred and secular culture, and a deep respect for the text, all characteristics of Sittler's work, are the sort of features that continue to edify. They remain as benchmarks for good preaching even as styles and contexts evolve.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621894636
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	10/12/2012
Series:	Lloyd John Ogilvie Institute of Preaching Series , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	340
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Richard Lischer is James T. and Alice Mead Cleland Professor of Preaching at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina. He is the author of The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Word that Moved America (1995) and The End of Words: The Language of Reconciliation in a Culture of Violence (2005).

James M. Childs Jr., formerly the Joseph A. Sittler Professor of Theology and Ethics at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, now serves there as Senior Research Professor. He is the author of Ethics in the Community of Promise: Faith, Formation, and Decision (2nd ed., 2006) and The Way of Peace: Christian Life in the Face of Discord (2008).
James M. Childs Jr. is Joseph A. Sittler Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ethics at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. His many publications include Ethics in the Community of Promise: Faith, Formation, and Decision (Fortress) and The Way of Peace: Christian Life in the Face of Discord (Fortress).
Richard Lischer is James T. and Alice Mead Cleland Professor of Preaching at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina. He is the author of The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Word that Moved America (1995) and The End of Words: The Language of Reconciliation in a Culture of Violence (2005).

Table of Contents

Foreword Martin Marty vii

Editors' General Introduction xi

Part 1 The Preacher as Theologian

Introduction: "Nothing Less than Everything" 2

1 Sittler Introduces Himself 13

2 Christology 27

3 Living the Given Life 50

4 Unbridled Grace 63

5 Ethos and Ministry 84

Part 2 Preaching the Word

Introduction: "Joseph Sittler and the Preacher's Calling" 104

6 The Word of God 115

7 Preaching and the Biblical Imagination 159

Part 3 Sermons

Introduction: "The Preacher as Theological Artisan" 194

The Care of the Earth 201

Remembering and Forgetting 209

How to Hear a Parable 215

The Unjust Steward 221

The Lost Sheep 229

Epiphany, Glory, and 63rd Street 236

Effort and Serenity 243

The Nimbus and the Rainbow 250

Suffering and Splendor 256

Three on Romans 8(Sermon 1) 261

Three on Romans 8(Sermon 2) 266

Three on Romans 8(Sermon 3) 272

Maundy Thursday 278

Easter: "This Is the Feast of Victory for Our God" 286

The Passion of Christ 291

The Haunting Allure of Jesus 297

Post-Easter Sermon 303

Sermon on Memory 308

Postscript: The Last Lecture: A Walk around the Truth, Eternal Life, and Fatith 315

Index 323