Preaching As Weeping, Confession, and Resistance

How can a person preach a word of hope and faith in a world filled with violence and suffering? Christine Smith says one must encounter and name the evil that oppresses persons in the world--evils such as handicapism, ageism, sexism, heterosexism, white racism, and classism. She argues preaching is an interpretation of our present world and an invitation to a profoundly different world. It is a form of passionate weeping in a universe filled with suffering and oppression; a form of confession where preachers can shape sermons to call our communities to honest reflection; and it is a form of resistance, moving people to actively resist the attitudes and structures of oppression.