Reading and Preaching the Bible in the Worship of the Church 3

Medieval Church

The intended audience of the book is not specified, but it seems that the book could be useful to a wide variety of people, from pastors to interested lay people to scholars. Old writes in a fairly nontechnical style that is easy to understand, even though he writes about obscure characters from church history. He interjects his opinion into the narrative on a somewhat regular basis and shows he reacts to medieval preachers from his own American Protestant position. For me these expressed opinions made the book livelier and fun to read, but those who do not share those opinions might be distracted.

The first chapter of the book is on Byzantine preaching, focusing on several examples of preachers in the Byzantine empire until 1000 AD.  The Easter sermons include topics like an expanded story of May Magdalene, the guards at the tomb, and the descent into hell. The Passover typology has left the scene and been replaced by the descent into hell and defeat of death, perhaps in order to communicate to his Greek audience. John of Damascus, most famous for his strong stance on the iconoclastic controversy, was also a preacher (20-31). He was involved in a polemic against Muslims and did not try to make the gospel relevant to them, but instead emphasized the differences. John also presents an early theology of Mary and was heavily influenced by Neo-Platonism. Photius was one of the few Byzantine preachers to reject Pseudo-Dionysus and spoke prophetically against sin in the empire, eventually paying the price for this prophetic voice (35-52). Photius abhorred the filioque clause, believing it blurred the Trinity. The foundation of our worship of God is the communication of glory within the Trinity: worship is an eternal activity which we join. Worship is also an act of grace, as the Holy Spirit allows us to worship. Symeon the New Theologian bears many of the same characteristics as later pietists, such as a personal relationship with God, a conversion experience, and a strong focus on the moral life (53-66).

The second chapter addressed the mission to the barbarians, which turns out to be a difficult topic because of the scarcity of sermons which have come down to us from these missionaries. The missions to Gaul, Spain, the Celts, the Anglo-Saxon, and Germany are covered. Caesarius of Arles encouraged popular preaching by preparing sermons which could be preached by those without high levels of education (74-81). Martin of Braga required the bishops to travel throughout their bishoprics to each of the churches, determine if the local priests were presenting the catechism correctly, and then preach themselves in each church (96-99).

The shaping of the Roman lectionary is the focus of the third chapter. One of the key characteristics of medieval preaching was its dependence on the lectionary: it became no longer an exposition of the text but an explanation of the feasts and holy days (173). The lectionary was not developed to promote catholicity, but was originally intended to help stem the loss of learning and to help uneducated priests to preach well. Many lectionaries developed independently and were specific to the needs of each city until the lectionary was standardized by Gregory the Great (160). A certain loss of enthusiasm can be seen in the lectionaries, as they went from expressing joy at reading the Bible together to an almost magical view of reading Scripture (168-169). The Old Testament became progressively less important as the lectionaries develop (182-183).

The fourth chapter looks at the Benedictines. Most of the preachers and missionaries of the time were Benedictines, since they were the ones who preserved learning in the Dark Ages. Benedectine preaching followed the lectionary and made extensive use of commentaries, showing a conservative bent as it tried to avoid innovations. The sermon was viewed not as coming from the preacher, but from the church as a whole, so using someone else’s sermon was not viewed as plagiarism (219). Charlemagne encouraged regular preaching and sought to have every parish priest preach every Sunday (189-191). Since this was not common practice, he desired to have a standard lectionary and homilary that preachers could use to help them preach every Sunday. The political purpose behind this was to unify his empire into a religious unity (197). Alcuin worked on the lectionary and Paul the deacon made the homiliary for Charlemagne. The sermons of Rabanus Maurus of Mainz illustrates how the sermon had become an explanation of Scripture in its liturgical setting (216). Many of the sermons (such as those by Abbo of Saint-Germain-des-Prés) were characterized by calling the listeners away from paganism, illustrating the half-converted status of much of the empire. By the tenth and eleventh century, preaching had become virtually non-existent. Preaching had become so conventionalized that it became sterile: it was the same sermon, year after year after year. Even those who did preach, such as Peter Damian or Julian of Vézelay, focused on new areas like sermons for saint’s days (229-235) or extensive allegories of biblical texts which seem bizarre to us today (237-249).

The Cistercians represent a revival in preaching in Old’s view (chapter 5), although I did not see as much advance as he saw. The preaching covered in this chapter looked similar to the sterile preaching of the previous chapter. The Cistercians arranged for monastic reform so that there was a greater emphasis on reading the Bible. Bernard of Clairvaux was the main preacher of the Cistercians, most famous for preacing the Crusades. While he preached highly conventional festal sermons, he also preached a series of sermons on Psalm 91 that approach a grammatical-historical hermeneutic, although it is still foreign to a modern reader. Bernard often intuitively uses Scripture to interpret Scripture that leaves the modern reader breathless. Bernard also started a restoration of addressing specific needs (in his case, the Crusades).

The schools (chapter 6) took the advances in preaching made by Bernard and taught preachers how to use them outside the monastery. Alan of Lille went so far as to say that preaching in secret is the seedbed of heresy. The schools naturally had an intellectual effect on preaching, but it was not a purely cerebral faith. The literal sense began a rise in popularity once again and interaction with the Jewish rabbis (such as Rashi) was encouraged. While the literal sense returned, the spiritual sense was still used extensively, including frequent sermons to explain church architecture. The schools were designed to teach theology with the goal of producing better preachers, although some used the schools as a way to advance through the church hierarchy. Scholastic sermons were often three point sermons which were very concerned with proving their point. Richard of Saint Victor preached many topical sermons, a newer style of sermon in which a variety of proof texts could be used to make the point and a style which would become more popular in the upcoming centuries. While preaching was being democratized for the people, the level of respect for the people was not high and they were not considered to be able to comprehend very much. Consequently, sermons focused on the very basics of the gospel and moralism. Old compares Jacques de Vitry to Harry Emerson Fosdick: while both preached in a way to attract many people, they both also seem to have lost to some measure the spiritual heat of the gospel.

Some of the premier preachers of the time were the Franciscans (chapter 7). While the schools taught preachers, the Franciscans were the ones who attracted large crowds to their sermons and sparked revivals based on their preaching. Francis of Assisi sought to be under the authority of the church and to preach in a simple manner (including preaching to birds!). Preaching was also to be based on prayer. Anthony of Padua was one of those who drew many people to their sermons, bringing revival to a sinful city. Old believes that his preaching had great power not because of his ability but because of his own powerfully ethical life. Bonaventure was a later Franciscan preacher who was like a Francis in scholar’s robes. He was heavily influenced by Pseudo-Dionysius: for Bonaventure the Bible was a mystery to be solved using the keys (the spiritual sense) that Paul had passed along to Dionysius. Berthold of Regensburg gives us some of the earliest Old German literature and is called one of the most popular preachers of the time, although his grasp on the Bible and theology was weak.

Parallel to the revival of preaching by the Franciscans was the revival of preaching by the Dominicans (chapter 8). The Dominican approach to preaching differed from the Franciscan in that it was born out of controversy and so was marked a strong polemical tone. The Dominicans were also famous for writing instructions for preachers, such as the Summa of Moral Theology by Guillaume de Peyraut and the Treatise on the Formation of Preachers by Humbert of Romans. Humbert recognizes that preaching is to have a central role in the church, a role which it had not occupied for some time. The trend begun by Bernard in the occasional sermon is taken to an extreme by the Dominicans and Humbert in particular, who developed sermons for all kinds of audiences (grammarians, musicians, students of medicine, etc.) as well as all types of occasions (a council, a daily chapter, or a consecration of an altar). Preachers had begun to realize the importance of exegeting their audience as well as their text. Thomas Aquinas preached as well as wrote, leaving us a series of sermons on the creed, complete with vivid illustrations. Overall, the Dominicans devoted themselves to catechetical preaching.

Old presents his opinion most strongly in the next chapter as he criticizes the German mystics (chapter 9). Meister Eckhart, while he still preached, based his preaching not on the text for the day, but on his own experience with God. The text was something to get past in order that one can know God. Eckhart did read the text for the day from the lectionary, but he moved past it quickly in his own preaching, focusing on the tropological sense. John Tauler, a disciple of Eckhart, was more moderate than Eckhart and managed to not get condemned, but still did not pay much attention to the text in preaching, since it is the inner life that truly matters, not the outward formality of worship.

The Czech reform is the next topic for Old (chapter 10). The Czech reform was not on the frontier, but happened in the heartland of the empire. The Czech reformers spoke against the abuses in the church, especially those abuses being committed by priests and bishops. This prophetic stance gained them many enemies, and many of the Czech reformers met unpleasant ends. Their sermons were full of challenges to the corrupt priests and calls to repentance. They were also trilingual, as they preached in Latin, German, and Czech (helping greatly to form the Czech language). Another concern for the reform was to give the mass to the people on a regular basis. While Jan Hus did foreshadow the Reformers in many ways, he lacked the exegetical tools they possessed (knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, copies of the Fathers in their context) and stayed closer to Catholic doctrine (such as transubstantiation).

Chapter 11 introduces the topic of nominalist pietism. While older realistic piety focused on the transcendence of God, the nominalist piety concentrated on the indwelling Christ. Jean Gerson was a formative figure in the movement. He preached to all kinds of people: both popes and kitchen maids. At the Council of Constance, he calls for the conversion of his listeners, a most unusual tactic for a church council. His listeners were to have a mystical experience with the Spirit and be sent into active service. Thomas à Kempis is the most famous preacher from the movement, although that is because of his book and not because of his sermons. Thomas preached moralistically and approached (if not passed) Pelagianism at points. He also expressed Neoplatonism: one is to not just leave sinful things behind, but also material things. The Scriptures for Thomas were merely a way to meditate on the cross: looking at a cross would seemingly do just as well. While most preaching of the Middle Ages was directed at monastic system, Thomas sought to bring monasticism to the common people. Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg called for reformation in the church, but would have rejected the Reformation of Luther and Calvin. He represents the best of the Scholastic preaching which the Reformers rejected. Advent for Geiler was not a time to celebrate the birth of Christ, but, like most others before him, it was a time to put aside sin so that we can receive the blessing of the Spirit for the Christmas feast. This Pelagian tone was common to Geiler’s sermons. Geiler’s use of the lectionary illustrates why it needed reform: Geiler does not use the lectionary to help him expound the Bible, but goes his own way and ignores the lectionary reading.

The last chapter is a transition into the next volume on the Reformation: preaching in Italy at the birth of the Renaissance (chapter 12). These preachers had the new challenge of preaching to a world that was becoming secular. Bernardino da Siena was a revivalist who brought revival to a variety of places, such Florence in 1424, Siena in 1425,and Padua in 1443. His listeners made bonfires to burn their sinful items (such as gaming tables, pornographic pictures, and playing cards). He preached against gambling, excessive woman’s fashion, and excessive profits by merchants. The Dominican Girolamo Savonarola preached prophetically against many sins of the day, strongly advocating for reform in the church as well as for democracy. He was eventually silenced and martyred for his preaching. While he sounds almost like the Reformation preaching, a wide gap still exists between them. For example, he did not know Hebrew and Greek as the Reformers did.

This book is an excellent way to survey church history from a different angle. This perspective is especially helpful for preachers who are constantly seeking to bring the Word of God to the church. While theology and politics play a role in this book, one gets to read of many more unsung heroes of the faith than in a standard church history book. Old’s passion for his topic also helps to make the book more readable. Old desires to put the preachers of history in a good light, although he is not afraid to critique them when he feels the need. I enjoyed seeing both how similar some of the medieval preachers were to modern preachers as well as how different they thought at other times. This is a great series and I look forward to reading the other volumes.

Login to add comments