Preaching the Elusive God: Hermeneutical Attunement as the Key to Homiletical Resonance

Abstract

In the context of Hartmut Rosa’s understanding of resonance, I would like to explore two questions: The first is: How does the preacher facilitate preaching that resonates? The second question is closely related to both the theological character of proclamation and the way the word “resonance” is usually understood in English as something that finds agreement between two parties or something that rings true. In this sense, the Gospel has a significant dissonant aspect; it lays a claim that does not necessarily “resonate” in this sense. How then should we preach towards resonance if the Gospel presents itself in a dissonant way? To address these two questions, I will turn to Jewish theology or Jewish hermeneutics and more specifically to Jewish theologian Michael Fishbane’s idea of sacred attunement as a way towards homiletical resonance.