FEATURE
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The reality of preaching about mental health is not one that is separated from Scripture. It’ s not about injecting contemporary psychiatric disorders into our ancient text, but about connecting with the emotional lives of the heroes of our faith which are weaved throughout the text. Yet too often we gloss over them, eager to reveal the climax of a story before we’ ve explored its depths.
One of the most powerful sermons I have ever heard in my life was not one explicitly on mental health, but one which connected the word of God to the reality of mental illness I was living. John 1:5 was set alight for me in a way that I don’ t think I could have understood in any other way. I had a recording of the sermon for years and listened to it countless times, slowly absorbing the truth that:‘ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’
What made the sermon so powerful was that it didn’ t try to ignore the darkness, but it set it in the context of the Light of the World entering our darkness.
ENABLING REVELATION
Sermons are not just there to make points, but to point to God and enable the revelation of the Spirit through our words. One of the most powerful ways we see this is in Luke’ s account of Jesus on the Emmaus road, walking with Cleopas and his companion.
First, Jesus meets them in their story, and we must do the same within our congregations. He listens to them speak, he hears the despair in their words‘ we had hoped’ and he responds. Dan Allender comments:‘ Ignoring our emotions is turning our back on reality; listening to our
emotions ushers us into reality. And reality is where we meet God.’ Responding not only to the emotions that arise when we read a passage, but looking out for how our congregations will hear the words. What is the church facing?
Secondly, Jesus provides the men walking to Emmaus with a challenge. Verse 25 and 26 see him say:‘ How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’
Often in my life, God works so powerfully, and yet I don’ t see it. Cleopas explains that women have seen the risen Jesus – and yet he fails to see that Jesus is standing right in front of him! The story of a God who provides shalom is writ large throughout the story of Scripture and yet all too often we look past it, missing it in our desire to make clever theological points. Preaching about mental health is not about shoehorning the issue into a passage, but noting the human emotions of the story we’ re telling and paying attention to them and what God is doing in their midst.
Thirdly, the scriptures are opened and expounded for them, revealing all they had to say about himself. The task of the preacher is to do the same, to point to Jesus. As Timothy Keller writes‘ All the seemingly loose threads and contradictory claims of the rest of the Bible come together in Jesus.’ 3 If our message about mental health doesn’ t talk about the Word becoming flesh – we’ re missing the point! Jesus is the embodiment of hope and the subject of our revelation and we can’ t preach the Word of God without reference to him.
Fourthly, Jesus breaks bread with them. There is fellowship with these
two men who are searching for answers, and this fellowship has been encouraged as we preach. The gospel is not just found in the words from the pulpit, but demonstrated in the words and deeds of the church. Whether it be breaking bread, pizza or quiche together, there has to be a practical encouragement to share one another’ s company both in times of celebration and times of trial. Churches tend to be very adept at providing meals for new parents and offering practical help to those with physical illnesses, and it’ s something that can and should be translated to those with mental illnesses.