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I recently read a copy of The Word in this World: Two Sermons by Karl Barth, a new publication edited by Kurt Johanson. This slim volume reprints two of Barth’s seminal sermons, “On the Sinking of the Titanic (Psalm 103:15-17)” preached at the beginning of Barth’s career in 1912, and “The Bremen Sermon (Matthew 14:22-33)” preached toward the end of his career in 1934. The difference between the two sermons could not be more striking.
Barth is well known for advocating that preachers preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. He also is well-known for his claim that while biblical preaching must not be boring, if the sermon is biblical it will not be boring. It could be argued that these two statements suggest a continuum with relevance on one side and biblical fidelity on the other. If so, these two sermons illustrate those two poles effectively.
The Titanic sermon is a model of preaching that speaks to the issues of the day. While the sermon does apply the teaching of the Psalm (“the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting”) the bulk of the sermon would describe what we might ordinarily classify as “topical.” The theme of the sermon seems to be captured by the following statement: “As long as self-interest is not now eradicated and replaced by the idea of one-for-all and all-for-one; as long as we do not now repent and strive for a truly communal labour, we run the risk of conjuring down upon ourselves calamities of a quite different sort than the sinking of the Titanic (p.41).”
Contrast this with the Bremen sermon, preached at a time of political uncertainty and unrest in Barth’s Germany of the 1930s. Despite the homiletic juiciness of his moment in time, the preacher doesn’t speak a word about the details of the political moment. William Willimon in his excellent introduction to the sermons writes, “it is as if the seriousness of the congregational context drives him to the text. Matters have become so dangerous for the German church that Barth dare not take his eyes off a God who saves, who judges, who teaches, who kills and makes alive. Working in a line-by-line exposition of the dramatic story, Barth marvels at the movements of the God who commands his disciples get into a boat and steer into the storm. The way to counteract paganism in the form of National Socialism is by close, obedient attentiveness to another God (p. 21).”
For my part, I found the second sermon to be much more compelling. I imagine, that sitting in that congregation, the application of the sermon would have been obvious and powerful to those dealing with the pressures of that particular political storm. I am not opposed to speaking to the issues of the day, or applying texts in practical ways. On the contrary, I encourage it. Still, I found Barth’s approach at Bremen to be inspiring. Karl Barth believed that God speaks when his Word is preached. Those of us who work so hard to speak with relevance today, would do well to remember this.