Abstract:
It is argued that the proper way to construct and deliver a therapeutic sermon is to take a
theocentric approach. Preaching, rightly understood, is proclamation of the good news that
God has redeemed the world through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is by definition
theological. Feeling pressure to be relevant, engaging and contemporary, a significant number
of preachers fall into administering mini-doses of psychological self-help from the pulpit.
Hans Urs von Balthasar’s homily, ‘Joy in the Midst of Anxiety’, is offered as a positive
alternative. The sermon is theologically and homiletically analysed to show why it is an
excellent example of theocentric therapeutic preaching.
