Betlehem en Beaufort-Wes is beautiful : die ontwikkeling van ʼn intertekstueel-inkulturerende homiletiese praxis-model

Abstract

Die oogmerk van hierdie bydrae is om, met verwysing na die twee dorpe Beaufort-Wes en Betlehem en die wyses waarop hierdie dorpe en soortgelyke ruimtes in verskillende kunsvorme tot uitdrukking gekom het, aan te toon watter moontlikhede die kunste vir die homiletiese proses bied. Sodoende word geïllustreer hoe nuwe betekenismoontlikhede wat juis eie is aan die onmiddellike konteks, oopgebreek kan word. Dit is ook insiggewend hoe ʼn bepaalde ruimte, byvoorbeeld ʼn dorp soos Beaufort-Wes in die Groot Karoo, in een kunsvorm soos poësie heeltemal verskillend deur verskillende digters uitgebeeld kan word. Elkeen se perspektief is uiteraard geldig en elkeen open ʼn bepaalde uitsig op die betrokke plek. Op ʼn soortgelyke wyse is Bybeltekste as literêre werke ook polisemanties, met die potensiaal dat ʼn veelheid van preke uit een betrokke teks ontwikkel kan word. Dié basiese insig word in hierdie artikel verder geneem wanneer geargumenteer word dat ʼn intertekstuele estetiese benadering in die homiletiek ʼn beter geïnkultureerde homiletiese praxis kan dien. Aan die hand van die voorbeelde wat verken word en ooreenkomstig ʼn prakties-teologiese benadering, word ʼn intertekstueel-inkulturerende homiletiese praxis-model ontwikkel.

The aim of the article is to explore, by means of using two towns as examples, namely Beaufort West and Bethlehem (the town in Israel, not the one in the Free State), and the ways in which these two towns and similar spaces have been represented in various art forms, the potential of the arts in the homiletical process. In doing this it will be illustrated how new meanings can be uncovered which are true to the immediate context and thereby enrich the practice of preaching. It is also insightful how a town in the Great Karoo, such as Beaufort West, can be depicted in totally different ways in one art form such as poetry by different poets. Each artist’s perspective is valid and each one opens up a particular perspective on the place. In a similar way Biblical texts are also polysemantic with the potential that many different sermons can come from one and the same text. This basic insight is developed in this article, and the argument that an intertextual aesthetic approach in homiletics can serve a better inculturated homiletical praxis is presented. In furthering this basic argument various examples from different art genres are used. Before the discussion of the art works the authors first, and briefly, discuss the work of two homileticians, Thomas Long and Johan Cilliers, and their views on the aim of preaching. This first exploration is taken up again at the end of the article after the discussion of the various works of art. Thus, after the first homiletical exploration Afrikaans poetry is explored, and specifically two poems by two Afrikaans poets, namely "Karoo-dorp: Someraand" by N.P. Van Wyk Louw and "Die dag toe hulle vir Donkie Viviers" by Gert Vlok Nel. Both poems are about, or at least are set in, towns in the Great Karoo; however, the perspectives that the two poets open up differ greatly. The second genre that is explored is visual art, and specifically two art works that are both landscapes with a scene in the Great Karoo as the subject of the paintings. The first is by the well-known South African artist J.H. Pierneef and the second by John Meyer, who is famous for, among other series and exhibitions, his Karoo landscapes. Added to this a brief exploration of the "farm novel" versus the "plaasroman" is employed to shed further light on the two paintings and the different ways in which they represent the Great Karoo, and here the literary criticism of J.M. Coetzee is utilised. The next genre that receives attention, and which we deem to be indispensable in the homiletical process, and specifically also in the intertextual approach we would like to explore, is the biblical text. We selected two texts that both deal with Bethlehem, one from the Old Testament (Micah 5:1–5) and one from the New Testament (Matthew 2:1–16). With this discussion of the art works in mind, we turn again to homiletics and the work of some of the most renowned homileticians of our day. An aesthetic approach in homiletics is well known and the work of the most important exponents in this regard is discussed. Further art genres are also brought into the scope of the article and building on their work and by means of the explorations of the above-mentioned works of art a new aesthetic homiletical theory is presented. The unique contribution of this article is specifically the development of an intertextual-inculturating homiletical praxis model. The advantage of such a model is that by means of the intertext between biblical texts and various art texts in which the given biblical texts can enter into a discussion with the art texts, the sermons that are developed by preachers can be better grounded in a specific context. With regard to the latter we borrow the concept of inculturation, which is well known in a field such as liturgical studies, where it is known as liturgical inculturation. With regard to our praxis model, liturgical inculturation becomes homiletical inculturation, referring specifically to the critical reciprocal interaction between the sermon and the surrounding cultures in which it is developed and preached so that a truly inculturated sermon will be the end product. Such a sermon is a sermon that engages in a meaningful way with its surrounding context without neglecting the biblical text(s). For this latter purpose we deem the arts to be an indispensable intertextual conversational partner within the homiletical process. What we therefore propose, based on this exemplary exploration, is an intertextual-inculturating homiletical praxis model.