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A year or two ago I took my family to the museum to see a traveling exhibition of the work of Leonardo da Vinci. The exhibit featured careful reproductions of the great artist’s inventions. There seemed little that he had not applied his mind to – everything from human kinetics to the properties of flight. There were copies of his notebooks filled full of philosophical insight, technological innovation, and artistic inspiration. The highlight of the exhibit was an "exact" copy of the Mona Lisa, a copy so good that it is often used to replace the original piece on display in the Louvre.
In this day of specialization, it was wonderful to interact with a man who was able to cross disciplines so effortlessly. I loved how he was able to integrate the fruits of science and technology with the grace and glory of art. He was the original "renaissance man.
I think he could have been a pretty good preacher.
The Science of Preaching
Preaching is a science. It is a technical discipline that requires both meticulous study and careful construction of the sermonic product. Homiletical textbooks describe ‘the functional elements’ of preaching and the technical "steps to the sermon." Seminaries emphasize the study of original languages in order to ensure that preachers are rightly dividing the word of truth.
This is appropriate, given that preaching is the presentation of God’s truth as mediated by his word. God himself is defined by our preaching, and as the saying puts it, he is "in the details." Preachers need to get it/him right. We cannot afford slipshod hermeneutics. Listeners need the preacher to be clear and logical in their presentation of the truth.
In the recent movie, A Beautiful Mind, the Nobel Prize winning mathematician, John Nash, is portrayed as on a compulsive search for what he called "the governing dynamics." I marveled at the way in which he was able to describe the most common occurrences by means of the language of mathematics. The movement of a flock of pigeons or the interplay of young people in love could all be described and to some extent explained by means of algorithmic equations.
There is an underlying logic to all of life. Like the unseen circuitry inside a computer, every function has its reason. Preaching seeks to expose those reasons, displaying the truth too often hidden from our sight. Preaching requires precision.
The Art of Preaching
At the same time, there is an art to preaching. The best preachers display creativity and an almost whimsical passion. There is beauty and fire in the most compelling sermons. The scientists complain that truth cannot communicate through abstraction, but true artists know better.
My wife is studying as a visual artist and we have long talks about the subject. Most artists want to communicate through their art form. The problem, of course, is that many contemporary artists want to communicate without seeking to persuade. Today’s acclaimed artists are content to create visuals that offer open-ended opportunities for listeners to supply their own meanings. One would look in vain for the artist’s ‘meaning’ in a Jackson Pollock painting or a piece by Picasso or Mondrian. My wife wants more than this from her painting just as I want more than this from my preaching. She actually wants to persuade people and her art gives her the means.
Preaching, similarly, has to guard against the tendency to provide opportunities for listeners to invent their own meanings. Preaching announces meaning, but it does so through a multitude of ways. It is not limited to rational, linear, cognitive presentation. Preaching is capable of moving the soul and awakening the intuitive part of the mind God has given us. Preaching can speak to the heart.
If Leonardo Could Preach
My daughter is about to begin junior high school. She is currently being asked to determine her area of extracurricular specialization. Apparently, the decision has life-altering consequences. I try to imagine Leonardo da Vinci sitting down with his high school guidance counselor. "No really Leonardo, you’ve got the makings of a bright career in engineering, but at the same time, you’re not too shabby with a paint brush. You’re going to have to make up your mind!" Personally, I’m grateful this conversation never occurred.
I wonder what it would sound like if Leonardo could preach? The brilliance of da Vinci’s technical achievements are seen in the convergence of form and function that is evident in his work. Not only would his machine fly, but it would look beautiful doing it. There was art in his science as there is in the best of contemporary preaching. I am no Leonardo da Vinci, but I do believe my preaching is enhanced when I bring together the science and the art of preaching.
Specifically, the science of preaching is seen in the attention to detail the preacher gives to exegetical study. For instance, does John 1:1 say that "the Word was God" or that –the Word was a God. It matters. It will be important for the preacher to use precise language in the presentation of this text. At the same time, the preacher ought to speak with grace and beauty of the meaning of this truth. That the Word, which became flesh and dwelt among us was present at creation is an evocative idea that can be offered with color and with passion. Leonardo would have likely found a way.
If I could preach like Leonardo I would integrate the science and the art of the sermon. Paying attention to the exegetical details would keep my sermon honest. Creative expression would help my words to soar. God’s word seeks full expression of both.