The Candle of Erasmus: Rediscovering Ancient Text as a Tool for Contemporary Preaching
By John D. Duncan
Poring over the words of the ancient text begins the process of application long before you actually get to application. It gives pause to specific questions: What does it mean to conduct yourself as a citizen pleasing God in His Kingdom (Phil. 1:27)? What is the difference between the peace offered by so many others ("peace, peace when there is no peace") and Jeremiah's offer of peace (wholeness)? What do prodigals look like? How do they waste? What do they waste? What can prodigals expect?
You make applications as the questions find answers: Good Kingdom citizens seek to please the King by honoring Him. Peace comes when God makes our lives whole. You can have peace at work or at home but if you have not experienced shalom your life is incomplete. Prodigals can expect God to greet them on dusty roads where they return broke and broken, penniless and homeless, expecting God's grace to reach around them and love them in spite of their past.
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Application flows from the text to the preacher to the hearer all because the preacher waited by the candle of Erasmus to see what God might say.
Preaching without God's voice, prayer and study produces sour fruit which rots on the vine. Preaching apart from contextualized word meanings keeps the "dry" in the dry bones of preaching. Preaching minus diligent digging for ancient golden treasure reduces the proclaimed word to shining a low energy flashlight into thick darkness. What hearers often need is a spotlight blasted into their darkness.
Preaching aims for transformation: God's holy fire purging the sinful heart; God's holy light renewing the soul so that a person walks a new path for Christ; God's holy Spirit changing a hearer because His word faithfully preached intercepted a wandering mind. For transformation to occur preachers must announce the Word, praying that it will join hands with God's Spirit and make friends in the hearts of hearers. Transformation begins with preparation.
Who knows -- maybe a candle, an ancient text and God's light might be all you need to rediscover that marvelous gift of preaching within you. The candle of Erasmus may well be the rediscovery that uncovers the dusty ancient texts of preaching and puts the shine into contemporary preaching for you and your congregation.