Between dwellings and doors: Spatial perspectives on preaching

Abstract

Although many classical works on preaching, especially within the reformed tradition, would take as point of departure the question of understanding, that is, how to do exegesis of a biblical text in such a manner that it makes sense (is understandable) to present-day listeners of sermons, this article opts for an aesthetical approach, which does not exclude the question of intelligibility, but places it within aesthetical frameworks, such as our multi-sensing of space and time. Preaching, in my opinion, entails more than just speaking, hearing and (cognitive) understanding. It calls, inter alia, for a multi-sensory (re)discovery of space and time, within space and time. This article reflects specifically on the spatial dimension of preaching pertaining to experiences of being, or coming, home and, conversely, leaving home, that is, experiencing liminality, as not-being-at-home.