Task 2. Draft Didactic Descriptions
Essence of the Task
Once you have reached some compelling conclusions about the words you are studying, it is time to write up those conclusions in a didactic (instructional) format that you can share with the congregation. In addition to being a great final step to solidify what you have learned, writing up your conclusions in a way that instructs others also provides you with finished content for your sermon or lesson.
Detailed Description
It may not be necessary to perform this task for all the words you have studied. If you initially wrote down a word because you had a slight doubt about it, but discover, once that doubt is resolved, that the word does not require further clarification, it is not worth spending any more time on it. When the time comes to say something about that word or its meaning in the passage, you can mention it briefly and move on.
However, there are other words that, having done your research and contrasted it with the commentators’ observations, clearly require additional work in order to present them well to the congregation. There may be several reasons for this:
- They are complicated words or words with disputed meanings, so they need to be clarified.
- They are words that are vitally relevant to understanding the argument of the passage, so they need to be explained.
- They are words that contain significant theological ideas, and they should be illustrated.
Of course, this must be done, as we have perhaps emphasized too many times, without falling into the trap of making an interesting word take over the focus of the sermon in an unbalanced way. For example, it is not appropriate to make an application out of the meaning of one interesting word. Rather, applications should arise from that which the passage (as a whole) affirms or teaches. Obviously, words play a role in that, but an affirmation is something that pertains to sentences, not to words.
With that in mind, let us return to our words to somehow «close out» our cycle of working with them. Having contrasted your understanding of the words with that of various scholars to get a solid understanding of what each word conveys in the passage, it is time to think about the people you will be teaching. How can you express what you have learned about each word so that those people will quickly grasp its meaning?
To Do
This task is not particularly complicated. Perhaps the following suggestions will provide sufficient guidance.
Which words require special didactic emphasis? With each word, ask yourself, what do I need to say in order for this word to be understood? Is what I already have written enough? Do I simply need to fine-tune a couple of sentences? If so, do it and don’t complicate yourself any further. Perhaps here «the two-minute rule» would apply. If the word you have in front of you requires less than two minutes of your time to be fit for homiletic use, give it those two minutes and move on to the next word. Conversely, if it is a word that requires additional thought to present it well, dedicate the necessary time and effort to do so.
Start writing. Think about the categories mentioned above.
- If it’s a complicated word or one with a disputed meaning, write something that, if someone dropped by your office, would clarify it for them in fifteen minutes or less.
- If it is a word that is highly relevant to the argument of the passage, what do you need to explain? Are there contrasts that need to be made? Special uses that one should be aware of?
- If it is a word with evocative theological notions, how can you illustrate it? How would you explain it to a child? Can it be drawn or diagrammed? Is there a narrative episode in scripture that would make it clear?
Stop writing when you sense that what you have written could almost be included as is in the final text of the sermon. This is not a question of writing something prematurely. That is, something that doesn’t respond to questions of interpretation and application that you will address down the road, but rather that what you write leaves you with that feeling that on Friday or Saturday you won’t have to come back to this task before you can incorporate it into your final outline or text. Put another way, you have put effort into these words. The ideas are fresh in your mind. There is no better time than now to complete your reflection on these words, as words. And you will know that you have completed your reflection when you have been able to describe them in such a way that you can express, clarify, explain, or illustrate them in the sermon in such a way that the grandmother sitting in the second row can understand.
To Keep in Mind
This task is an extension of Wednesday-Content, Task 1. Therefore, perhaps with a complicated word, it would be best to draft the necessary clarifications while you have the commentaries you have been referencing open in front of you.
And speaking of commentaries, don’t forget to cite the source if you pick up a particularly useful and memorable idea. It may be tempting not to waste time entering a footnote, but it’s the right thing to do. Besides, what you may «lose» in appearing more original by making a citation, you will gain in credibility, and that is worth its weight in gold.
Keep in mind, too, that the unique purpose of this task is to think of your audience. That is, to turn the fruit of your study into something you can share.
Remember that the focus of this pedagogical expression must also be clearly and necessarily defined. In the wording of the assignment we wanted to emphasize that orientation by stating it as follows: “Write up didactic descriptions for the congregation, highlighting the relevance of the word to the meaning of the passage.” The purpose should be an expression that highlights why this word appears in this passage. We must be particularly alert to the danger of writing decontextualized descriptions.