Preaching (Part 4)<\/p>\n
We seek out metaphors to understand reality. The study of metaphor can be traced back to Aristotle who defined metaphor as a word in which two literally dissimilar entities are compared. Metaphor is much more than a rhetorical divide, however. True metaphor is a bearer of the reality to which it refers. The hearer not only learns about that reality but also participates in it. In other words, language, human thought processes, and experienced reality are largely metaphorically structured and defined.1<\/sup> Metaphor is a powerful communicative device whereby, as Janet Martin Soskice says, \u201cwe speak about one thing in terms which are seen to be suggestive of another<\/em>.\u201d2<\/sup><\/p>\n Metaphors are locomotives of meaning because they compress and compact assumptions and insights accepted in one domain, and transfer them to another domain, often without great cognitive effort on the part of the interpreter. Metaphor transfers meaning, not between two terms, but between two rich domains of content, or \u201csemantic fields.\u201d3<\/sup> In metaphor,4<\/sup> we use one thing \u2013 the \u201cvehicle\u201d \u2013 in order to speak about another thing \u2013 the \u201ctenor\u201d.5<\/sup> Tenor and vehicle are not isolated words or things but bring with them an entire \u201cnetwork of associations.\u201d6<\/sup> Metaphorical meaning arises from the interaction of tenor and vehicle as the vehicle, in a sense, organizes our perception of the tenor.7<\/sup> In this interaction, metaphor creates new meaning and offers a new conception.8<\/sup> Indeed, metaphor, according to<\/p>\n Soskice, is \u201ca new vision, the birth of a new understanding, a new referential access.\u201d9<\/sup> Particularly in its referential function, Paul Ricoeur reminds us, metaphor has the ability to re-describe reality.10<\/sup><\/p>\n The metaphor you choose is a perceptual lens that shapes how you see reality. How does the metaphor shape perception? Change the metaphor and see how perception changes. For example, when choosing a metaphor for the church, there are several options (e.g. body, family, flock, building, army, and bride). Different metaphors, even biblical metaphors, change the understanding you have of the same topic. If you consistently use \u201cbody\u201d as your primary metaphor for the church, what is missing in your preaching? What is seen differently when you exchange metaphors? Which metaphor functions best for this sermon?<\/p>\n The most common metaphor used when doing hermeneutics is \u201ccrossing a bridge.\u201d A \u201cbridge\u201d is a translation metaphor. How do you translate the text from the world of the Bible to today\u2019s language?<\/p>\n Warren discusses how the transition from text to sermon often takes shape as the search for a method of interpretation to bridge the distance between then and now, their world and ours; between the text and our congregation.11<\/sup><\/p>\n Witness <\/strong>\u2013 Scripture is a witness. Scripture is the ongoing story of God witnessed throughout history by the people of God.12<\/sup> The Bible is the faithful testimony of God\u2019s people, of the fidelity of God throughout history as God\u2019s story is concretized in their lives. The preacher, as WITNESS<\/strong>, beholds, sees, experiences, observes, basks in, becomes aware, and perceives the BIBLICAL TEXT<\/strong>, AND THROUGH ITS WITNESS ENCOUNTERS GOD! Then, the preacher, as WITNESS<\/strong>, attests, gives out, says, makes others aware, and testifies to the COMMUNITY<\/strong>. Therefore, God, by means of the witness of the biblical text and the witness of the preacher, encounters the congregations.13 <\/sup>The preacher beholds and experiences God through an encounter with God\u2019s self-revelation through Scripture. The preacher witnesses God in the text. Then, the preacher gives testimony to the congregation of what was witnessed. The preacher cannot give witness to what has not been witnessed.<\/p>\n Fusion <\/strong>\u2013 Physics uses the term \u201cfusion\u201d to indicate when two nuclei combine to form a new nucleus. For example, it is the reaction in which two atoms of hydrogen combine, or fuse, to form an atom of helium and, in the process, generate something new. Christian Smith names this an \u201cemergent reality\u2026something new has come into existence that is more than the sum of its parts.\u201d14<\/sup> Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method<\/em>, proposes the oft-cited metaphor of \u201cfusing the horizons\u201d to explore the task of hermeneutics. Two circles each have a center. As the two circles merge, the two centers for an ellipse. The new center is the intersection of the major and minor axes. The ellipse is a new geometric shape. The fusion metaphor fuels the preacher’s imagination in multiple hermeneutical and homiletical ways. What say you?<\/p>\n Windows <\/strong>\u2013 I also sometimes use the image of a window in a room in my house. When you look through the north window you can see the piano on the south wall, the couch sits in the center of the room. On the east wall, out of the corner of your eye, you can see a TV on a table. From the window on the west wall, you can see the TV on the table more clearly and now the piano on the south wall is less obvious. From the new angle of vision, you can now see the fireplace on the north wall, a fireplace hidden from view when looking through the north window. Different windows in the room give different angles of vision. Only when you look through windows on all four walls does the room come into full focus.<\/p>\n Preaching (Part 4) We seek out metaphors to understand reality. The study of metaphor can be traced back to Aristotle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3578,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1225],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-preaching","comments-off"],"yoast_head":"\nThree More Metaphors: Witness, Fusion, & Windows<\/h4>\n
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