Homiletical malpractice

Sorry to have more cartoons than Bible studies on this page, but they take less time to write! (If you run out of things to read, though, there’s a huge number of Bible studies in the archives pulldown [“posts by books of the Bible or topic”] on my home page.) But once in awhile even the cartoons have a message …

Homiletical malpractice

Nonspeculative redactional analysis

Recently, in 2311, archaeologists discovered this ancient letter from the early 21st century. Happily, our ingenious biblical scholars have been able to isolate the various redactional layers of this letter.

Jan. 14, 2018

 

Dear Harry, { This name is currently unattested in the 21st century and should be understood allegorically with reference to the recipient’s hair length}

 

I regret {inconsistent with the narratorial voice, this was added by the 2nd redactor} that we cannot {polite addition by 2nd redactor} grant your requested extension {21st-century writers applied “extension” to added fake hair, obviously the original subject of this correspondence}. You should be aware {3rd redactional layer} that you should apply {allusion to a hair-cutting appliance} for extensions before the deadline {note etymological root “dead,” subtly threatening penalties if hair is not cut}, as clearly {3rd redactor, wrongly thinking hair color at issue} specified both in the syllabus and in the student handbook {2nd redactor; no original author would include two prepositional phrases}. If I may step aside from the usual professional language for a moment, applying for an extension six weeks after the close of the semester is irresponsible behavior characteristic only of immature, preadolescent {2nd redactor, who thinks the recipient too young to grow hair}, whining brats. Are you aware that our institution {3rd redactor envisions here a barbershop} provides basic counseling services at no cost to the student? I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity, and also, if your counselor so advises, to check yourself into a psychiatric institution. {3rd redactor, wrongly thinking barber scissors cause brain damage}

Sincerely,

Your Advisor {3rd redactor, alluding to helmet visors, which can prevent brain damage}

 

Feel alienated from church?

Some people don’t attend church because they were hurt by the church. That’s understandable, especially if you had people there harassing or abusing you and even doing it, tragically, in the Lord’s name. Hey, Jesus had problems with religious folk in his day, too. In a way, you might feel more access to God not being around those who misrepresent him. Yet in Ephesians 5 we see that Jesus loves the church. He laid down his life for the church—for the purpose of making the church spotless and pure. If you love Jesus, you are part of the church. If you and I are talking about him together, in a sense we are doing church. Church is not something you just go to. It’s when you engage with other believers about Jesus. But because we’re members of a larger body, it’s not something we can do on our own. Of course, if you’re on a desert island or you’re somewhere else where there are no fellow followers of Jesus, no one can hold that against you. But it’s important for us to connect with other believers to honor the Lord together, and if there aren’t any, maybe the Lord can use you to help some others become believers. You’ll never find perfect Christians (or perfect people of any sort) to hang out with, but just as God is patient in putting up with us, we have to be patient putting up with others.