As a preacher, I’m always trying to subvert expectations. I hate the kind of familiarity that might breed contempt or, worse, boredom! To a speaker, boredom is kryptonite. So I’ll often try to defamiliarise people with topics they think they understand. I find myself using the word ‘actually’ a lot.
But there’s a problem with this (actually)! Sometimes, in trying to offer fresh insights, we end up over-complicating or even undermining truths that are already profound. We subvert, but we subvert the wrong thing, or in the wrong way. This happens a lot at Christmas. We’ll consider four examples. First, the ‘Debunking The Nativity’ sermon.
Debunking traditional Christmas
You know how it goes: ‘Everything You Think You Know About The Nativity Is A Lie. The shepherds never met the three kings, and there weren’t three of them and they weren’t kings. It wasn’t a stable and don’t get me started on the donkey!’ This kind of relentless demythologisation might initially engage the sceptical, but it can deconstruct more than it builds.
The elderly and bereaved: a growing gospel need
“Let me put it this way. I don’t expect there to be many people at my funeral.”My new friend …