The Preacher and His Models: The Yale Lectures on Preaching 1891Stalker, James
Religion
The Preacher and His Models: The Yale Lectures on Preaching 1891
Stalker, James
Preaching
Of course he did not live long enough to preach the Gospel to all the
inhabitants of even the little world of his day. Yet it is amazing to
think of the range of his labours. He preached in nearly all the great
cities of that world--in Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Athens, Rome and
many others--his predilection for cities being obviously due to the
hope that, when Christ was made known in these crowded centres, the
sound of his doctrine would echo through the surrounding regions. And
this hope was justified. The cities in the province of Asia, for
example, to which St. John sent the letters in the beginning of
Revelation, were probably all evangelized from Ephesus by converts of
St. Paul, though he himself may have visited none of them but
Ephesus. The passion burned continually in his mind to get forward and
cover new ground. He could not bear to build on another man's
foundation. The wide unfulfilled provinces of his apostolate ever
called him on.
His first journey was merely a circuit of the countries bordering to
the west and north on his own native Cilicia, and lay chiefly among
barbarians. But the second, after a still more extended tour among the
barbarians, brought him to the borders of that wonderful world of
culture and renown in which dwelt the Greeks as distinguished from the
barbarians. He was standing on the shore of Asia and looking across to
the shore of Europe. In Europe were the two great eyes of the Gentile
world--Athens and Rome--the one the centre of its wisdom and the other
of its power. How could the Apostle of the Gentiles help wishing to
preach the Gospel there? He crossed the narrow strait, and then
advanced from one Greek town to another, till he stood on the very
spot where Socrates had taught and Demosthenes thundered. In his third
journey he had to concentrate his work on Ephesus; because, like a
skilful general, he would not leave territory in the rear unconquered.
But Rome was now the aim of all his desires--Rome, the very citadel of
the world which he had to conquer. He approached it at last in the
garb of a prisoner and in a gang of prisoners. But, as we follow him,
we feel as if we were going with a victorious army to take part in a
grand triumph. Indeed, as you accompany this great spirit, this is
often the feeling you have. He had it himself. "Thanks be unto God,"
he says, "who always causeth us to triumph." Only to his mind the
occupant of the car of victory was not himself, but Christ; he was
only a satellite, showering largess in the name of the Victor among
the crowd around the chariot-wheels.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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