How can a person preach a word of hope and faith in a world filled with violence and suffering? Christine Smith says one must encounter and name the evil that oppresses persons in the world–evils such as handicapism, ageism, sexism, heterosexism, white racism, and classism. She argues preaching is an interpretation of our present world and an invitation to a profoundly different world. It is a form of passionate weeping in a universe filled with suffering and oppression; a form of confession where preachers can shape sermons to call our communities to honest reflection; and it is a form of resistance, moving people to actively resist the attitudes and structures of oppression.
Christine M. Smith is Professor of Preaching at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in New Brighton, Minnessota and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.
