Viva Vox: Rediscovering the Sacramentality of the Word through the Annunciation

Description

In failing to take the sacramentality of the word of God seriously, the preaching of the church has suffered negative consequences. As a result, preaching has often become, at best, a form of instruction or, at worst, an incantation of sorts rather than an integral part of deepening our relationship with Christ by functioning sacramentally to bring about divine participation with Jesus’ corporeal humanity in his living word. In order to recover this sacramental reality, this volume argues that one should consider the annunciation to Mary where, with the sermon of Gabriel, the corporeal Christ took up residence in the flesh of his hearer, and delivered to her precisely what was contained within his own flesh: the fullness of the Godhead (Col. 2:9). When understood as a biblical paradigm for the church, it becomes clear that what happened to Mary can, indeed, happen to Christians of the present day. Proclamation, thus, delivers the Christ to us. Review "Drawing from sources of imposing breadth, especially in patristic literature, Genig recovers in this rich study the unity of Scripture and sacrament characteristic of the magisterial Reformers. Its appeal should be equally broad. Indeed, it is difficult to think of any Christian reader who would not profit from this book's alliance of textual scholarship with the search for spiritual nourishment." --Patrick Henry Reardon, Senior Editor of Touchstone About the Author Joshua D. Genig completed a doctorate in systematic theology at the University of St. Andrews. He is assistant professor of historical theology and director of master programs at SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan, as well as former pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Ascension and St. John Lutheran Church. This volume is based on a dissertation completed under the direction of David W. Brown. Acknowledgments ix Preface xiii Abbreviations xix 1. Defining the Terms 1 2. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Calvinistic Theology of the Word and Preaching 59 3. The Word as Viva Vox 79 4. Adaptability A Marian Example of a Christological Reality 107 5. Tangibility Mary’s Joyful Receptivity of the Angel’s Sacramental Sermon 137 6. Adaptability and Tangibility Sacramental Preaching and Hearing Today 177 7. Contemporary Approaches to Preaching 187 Conclusion 213 Bibliography 217 Index 237