Rev. William Dillard, Diocese of San Diego, California.

"I researched the homiletic collections of 10 American seminaries...

"I found two books on clowning and the use of clowns in the liturgy."

And then he found another winner:

Weaving the Sermon: Preaching in a Feminist Perspective.

By Christine Smith, who says:

"Jesus is a parable of God... we are affirming that Jesus is not God..."



From the March / April 2010 issue of This Rock magazine. The article title is "Tell the Good News, Father!" By the Rev. William Dillard who -- we are told! -- "is pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in San Diego. He also serves as spiritual director for the Office of Clergy for the Diocese of San Diego."


"How Did We Get Here?

"Why do so many homilies fall short -- not just of parishioners' expectations but of Church expectations?

"It might have something to do with the homiletic texts and resources available to seminarians.

"I researched the homiletic collections of 10 American seminaries and found catalogs that contained anywhere from four to 250 titles under the heading homiletics.

"At one institution, I found two books on clowning and the use of clowns in the liturgy."


What comes next is by Floyd Shaffer and Penne Seawall, Clown Ministry, page 13.


"One work stated that the chief task is to be childlike, to give of one's self, to elevate other persons to positions of worth, and communicate clearly that hey are loved....

"The authors did not explain to my satisfaction how dressing up as a clown while preaching accomplishes this.


And, now: Christine M. Smith, Weaving the Sermon: Preaching in a Feminist Perspective, page 84.


"In another text, the author stated stated that Jesus is a parable of God ... we are affirming that Jesus is not God, for metaphors and parables point to similarities and dissimilarities, not to literal identification.

"These kinds of texts do not bespeak the importance of formation in homiletics..."

'Way to go, Padre! :)