Finally Comes the Poet

The biblical studies of Walter Brueggemann have enabled many of us to better grasp, often in remarkably fresh ways, the message of God's Word. In Finally Comes the Poet: Daring Speech for Proclamation (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, c. 1989), originally given as the 1989 Lyman Beecher Lectures at Yale Divinity School, he reflects on the Old Testament mode of proclamation, suggesting it frequently takes the form of poetry rather than prose. Thus preaching, in a biblical mode, means speaking as a poet so as to facilitate forgiveness, communion, obedience, and relinquishment. Brueggemann says "The task and pos¬sibility of preaching is to open out the good news of the gospel with alternative modes of speech--speech that is dramatic, artistic, capable of in¬viting persons to join in another conversation, free of the reason of technique, unencumbered by onotolgies that grow abstract, unembarrassed about concreteness" (p. 3). Too many of us, too often, live in a world squashed flat by prose, subject to logical analysis but lacking imagination and life. It's a world whose soil has been sterilized by sin, needing the rich humus of living organisms, of spontaneity and life. Amidst the "numbness and ache" of a world alienated from God, the preacher stands and points toward "the other side," another reality, which heals and quickens the human heart. To do this well, preachers must be more than psychological technicians or scholarly analysts. To absolve the guilt of sin, to recon¬cile man with God, demands more than clever epigrams or catchy recipes. "Unless we speak poetically, God's self-giving transformation will be hard as a form of cheap grace that costs God noth¬ing" or, conver¬sely, "as a form of works righteousness" (p. 37), neither of which actually cleanses sin's guilt. Most of us, hearing sermons, need neither more information nor admonition--we need strength, courage, a sense of direction and empowerment. When we preach, according to model Hebrew prophets like Jeremiah, we try to sensitize hearers to the presence of God. "The act of preaching is not instruction, rational discourse, or moral suas¬ion. It is the invitation and permit to practice a life of doxology and obedience" (p. 68), the crea¬tive call to enter God's sacred space and time--sabbath time--where praise and yielding satisfy the deepest yearnings of the spirit. Praise and yielding facilitate communion. Both involve attention, hearing, responding. "We are created for listening. It is our proper busi¬ness. We are made for communion, but the communion for which we are formed is not that of mindless camaraderie" (p. 81). That's because "Listening of any serious kind is difficult" (p. 81). Indeed: "Listening is difficult for us because the modern world is or¬ganized against serious speech, against authorita¬tive speech, against listening, against passionate discourse that binds us one to another and causes one to yield to another. The notions of self

I will not attempt to repeat what other reviewers have said, only to add that Walter Brueggemann was my Old Testament professor,mentor, and friend at Eden Theological Seminary, where he was either the first or most imaginative scholar to see the dynamics of poetry for motivational preaching and as a catalyst for change. Because of this, "Finally Comes the Poet" is my primary text in the course "Preaching as Storytelling" at Florida Christian University/Theological Seminary. We live in such a drab, prosaic society that we have lost the rich symbolism and imagination of poetry or at least played it down in our society, witness the lack of emphasis upon "right brain" electives in our schools and the stress on science, mathematics, and other "left brain" functions. The richness of language in poetry breathes fresh air into our Biblical insights and into our sermonic/psychological grasp of reality.

It is impossible to overstate how important this book is for us who yearn for the Gospel to be once again spoken with ardor and relevancy to our 'fearfully complacent' congregations/nation. This is the eighth of Professor Brueggemann's books I have read, and he is a critically needed prophetic voice in our very own wilderness.

"Finally Comes the Poet" is surely one descriptive title of my most read of Bruegge's theological mines. For those who need to read theological mines, it takes away despair as few poets do! Sir Walter stirs up one's creative juices simply in describing, the "generative power of biblical texts to summon and evoke new life." He considers "preaching to be a poetic construal of an alternative world... whose purpose is to cherish and open the truth." This theme appears in nearly every class of Brueggemann! My review is unnecessary after comments of Fred Craddock from the book jacket. "Here we have what we have come to expect from Walter Brueggemann; a fired imagination, harnessed & disciplined-offering what the gospel offers, that is an alternative world." Brueggemann names powerful titles of healing from Biblical texts in his chapter: "Numbness & Ache or The Strangeness of Healing: 1) We likely cannot work alone for own healing. It may require a priest. 2) Healing requires the submission of some thing of value. 3) Healing is the enactment of atonement. 4) The act of putting away the poison of guilt is done not by ourselves but on our behalf by the priest. I place this up to, "Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth; The Psalms of Life and Faith; Spirituality of the Psalms; Introduction to the Old Testament, Struggling with Scriptures, and Commentary On Jeremiah!" It is difficult to place a listing at one perspective of necessity, life-style or precious moments of grief, joy, or pain or peace...Today this is my current list! My continuing prayer for all who read his poetic thots, "May we be challenged by Sir Walter, one neat OT prophet-poet-preacher." Although his words were created for Yale Lyman Beecher Lectures of 1989, they are proof he is totally at home in both Old & New Testament! Amazing to be sandwiched into those elite lectures after Dr. Craddock in 1978, John Claypool, 1979 and earlier than Barbara Brown Taylor in 1997! Hooray for Creative Poets who preach the scriptures! Retired Chaplain, Fred W. Hood