Writing letters to specific churches with specific issues, neither Paul nor any authors writing in his name would have known that they were contributing to a body of scripture that would come to be widely regarded as inspired and, two millennia later, supplying readings for lectionaries common to a range of Christian traditions.

THE PREACHERS’ TASK

However, these letters form part of the title deeds of the Christian faith, and, as John Barclay reminds us in his article, ‘Preaching from the Epistles’, ‘the Epistles were written to bring central aspects of “the good news” of Jesus Christ to bear on actual believers in real-life situations’ and that ‘the preachers’ task is to do the same’.

This then brings us to the question posed by John Deehan in his article, ‘The Epistles: Preaching on the Pauline Readings’, asking ‘how often we use the Epistles as the source of our Sunday homily, even as contributors to The Preacher?’ Judging from the sermons which follow, the answer is ‘not very often’. Only five of our sermon writers have chosen to refer to a reading from the Pauline Epistles and only two of them have made it a primary focus of their sermon. There are reasons for this. There is no direct connection between the second reading and the Gospel. This is because, while the Old Testament reading can be chosen to provide a thematic link with the Gospel, the passage from the Epistles is based on a semi-continuous working through
the text.

FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT

Pip Lawrence is one of two of our sermon writers making the Epistle the primary focus of a sermon. Preaching for 29 June, Pip takes the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5 and, situating the specific circumstances in the Galatian church being addressed by Paul, Pip explores those elements that still have relevance to a congregation in the twenty-first century: ‘We have not been infiltrated by false believers and been thrown into confusion. No one is suggesting we observe the Jewish laws. We are followers of Christ, saved by grace. However, we are called “to be free” (v.13) and not to use our freedom to indulge in sin but to serve one another in love. So, we ask ourselves, are we serving each other in love or using our freedom in Christ carelessly?’

THE RECONCILING CHRIST

Another sermon that places a passage from a Pauline Epistle as the primary focus is from Esther Prior. In her carefully plotted sermon (13 July), Esther reflects first on the TV programme This Is Us that charts ‘the experience of a group of families over generations, with frequent flashbacks and flash-forwards’. She finds a parallel in the ‘dance between the past, present and future… woven into this opening chapter in Paul’s letter to the Colossian disciples’. She then goes on to urge her hearers to ‘dwell again upon the deeper truths about our reconciling Christ who dwells in the past, present and future and invites us into hope-filled lives, where present brokenness is never the end of the story’.

REINFORCING THE MESSAGE

Among sermons referencing texts from the Epistles that reinforce messages from the Gospel Mike Thoms for the Feast of Corpus Christi (19 June or 22 June) refers to 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 with ‘Paul encouraging us to celebrate the Eucharist in remembrance, but also with a frequency – “as often as you drink it … until he comes” – to ensure our recollection of our blessed Lord’s death, and his gift of showing us the pathway to
eternal Glory.’

Douglas Cremer, for the Feast of Peter and Paul (29 June) cites 2 Timothy 4:6-8 to illustrate the commitment of both apostles for, as ‘Saint Paul recounts, he is “already being poured out like a libation”. The lowly are exalted, lifted up, only to be cast down by an unforgiving empire.’

Finally, the sermon for 20 July reinforces the Gospel message in Luke 10:38-42 that ‘Mary has chosen the better part.’ The
sermon connects the Gospel reading with the Eucharist, at which ‘we, like Martha and Mary, have Jesus as our guest,’ and with the message of Saint Paul in Colossians, that ‘the mystery of Christ is among you’.