The word homily means conversation or discourse. Unfortunately in most cases, the homily or sermon is in one direction only….priest to congregation. How can the homilist guide and engage those gathered in such a way that is culturally appropriate and begins a conversation, even if the conversation is an individual’s intrapersonal one regarding the meaning and application of the homily? For starters, the homily if possible, should be given in Spanish, even if there are many bilinguals in the congregation. Why? Because you will be speaking the heart language, the mother tongue, using words that carry specific meanings for the listeners. In my ministry I had many young Hispanics who spoke English most of the day, even among themselves. When we were celebrating Mass or were engaged in other spiritual functions, I would ask if they preferred to speak in English or Spanish. The answer usually came back, Spanish. In their day to day interactions, English was the language of choice but when it came to private or intimate things such as faith, they always wanted to use their native tongue. Language is the first skill humans learn in order to interact with the world around them and express their wants and needs. When a child makes that first real communication with another human being, the language and its concepts become imprinted in the child. It is that language that talks to the inner self. Words and expressions are representations of the world as they see and experience it. Consciously or unconsciously, religion is part of who Hispanics are and it is reflected in their daily speech. Expressions such as, Primero Dios, Así sea, Dios mediante, Gracias a Dios, Bendito sea Dios, Válgame Dios, Que en paz descanse, Si Dios quiere, No lo quiera Dios, Quiera Dios, and Así quiso Dios, dot daily conversations. A typical reply to “Cómo está?” (How are you?) is “Bien, gracias a Dios”, (Fine, thanks be to God). These phrases represent a deeper reality for the Hispanic and God’s continued interaction with him.
For purposes of homiletics and the idea of conversation, it is useful to have an idea about how Hispanics converse or tell stories. Americans for the most part are very direct in their dialogue. We generally state our purpose, develop the argument and come to a conclusion, a straight line method. Often times Hispanics take a detoured route.[2] I have experienced this often and for those want to ´get to the point´ and move on, the detoured route can be frustrating at best and confusing at worst, particularly when dealing with a foreign language. The individual will begin talking and as the monologue progresses s/he is reminded of something that takes the topic into a different direction. This process may continue for several detours but somehow there is always a connection back to the original topic. The entire route leads to the final destination. A lot of side information, pertinent or not, is brought into the mix. What is suggested here is that more importance is placed on the time spent with another person in conversation than the topic of the conversation itself. The essence of the conversation may be in building relationship. This is seen frequently when conducting business in Latin American countries. In a business setting or meeting, Hispanics will spent a fair amount of time in ‘small talk’ regarding family, wives, children, health etc. with you long before they get down to the business of business.
This convoluted way of conversing perhaps is reflective of the incongruence of life itself and for the Mexican in particular whose past and national evolution and identity have been one big detour. Davis identifies three skills needed to master a good homiletic experience for and with a Hispanic congregation.[3] The first skill needed is to be able to enter the world of social displacement and disorientation that Hispanics live in. Caused by a lack of a social and legal infrastructure that meets their needs, they learn to become immune to a disoriented world. For this reason, a suspended meaning in a homily is needed to catch and hold the listener’s attention. Since most people want to hear answers to their questions or problems in a homily, Davis says by creating an element of threat or cognitive dissonance, interest in what the homilist has to say will be piqued. Scripture asks, who can understand the mind of God? How do we make sense of God and our experience of him in our disoriented world? The homilist needs to deviate from his or her own view and open a space in the minds of the listeners for the Spirit to influence and direct the understanding of the reality of God in their current life circumstances.
The second skill according to Davis is analysis. The homilist must seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in trying to piece together the puzzle that is life, always digging deeper to understand the real world, not our cultural assumptions of it. The homilist must seek to understand the incongruities and social injustices in society. Social dislocation experienced by Hispanics opens a floodgate of options for the homilist to help the congregation bring into focus the problems that they face caused by disparity. There are no easy solutions, obvious or canned answers. The homilist worth his/her salt will through much prayer and reflection find ways to isolate a particular issue, make it less painful to talk about or at least numb the effects of the problem so s/he can then lead the congregation in a search for understanding. Analysis leads to comprehension that in turn leads the listeners in finding the answers for themselves in an experiential way.
The last skill is revelation in finding a solution. The revelation comes from the artful use of metaphor, symbol or parable in the same way that Christ used them. Christ took seemingly unequal things and found points of congruence and similarity between them so that the people would experience that “Aha” moment. In his divinity, Christ understood humanity. He knew how to express ideas and concepts that were different from the general understanding of the day in such a way that his followers could connect the dots. In the connection the resolution was revealed. In cross-cultural ministry, non-Hispanic ministers must be willing to lose themselves culturally speaking. They need to disconnect themselves temporarily from the Anglo world and become one with the Hispanic experience. In so doing, they too will have a revelation.
[1] Iglesias, María Luisa. "Participative Preaching: Laity as Co-Authors of the Homily." In Preaching and Culture in Latino Congregations, edited by Kenneth G. Davis and Jorge L. Presmanes, 72. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2000
[2] Gómez, Raúl. "Preaching the Ritual Masses among Latinos." In Preaching and Culture in Latino Congregations, edited by Kenneth G. Davis and Jorge L. Presmanes, 104-07. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2000.
[3] Davis, Kenneth G. "Cross-Cultural Preaching." In Preaching and Culture in Latino Congregations, edited by Kenneth G. Davis and Jorge L. Presmanes, 57-61. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2000.