Preach Magazine Issue 1 - Creativity and innovation in preaching | Page 55

SERIAL

55

FOR WYCLIFFE, THE POINT OF PREACHING WAS TO
UNCOVER THE MEANING OF THE GOSPEL; BIBLICAL
EXEGESIS WAS USUALLY FOLLOWED BY CLEAR
APPLICATION, EITHER A COMMENT ON THE EVILS OF
HIS DAY OR GUIDANCE IN LIVING AS A CHRISTIAN.

John Wycliffe has been
celebrated since the
sixteenth century as a
preacher and lecturer
whose thinking in parts
anticipated that of the
Protestant Reformers
more than a century
later. Born in Yorkshire in
about 1331, Wycliffe spent
most of his life and career
in Oxford, studying and
lecturing at the University.
In 1380 his controversial
ideas were censured by
the University and he
retired to his Rectory
at Lutterworth (in
Leicestershire) where he
died in 1384.

W

ycliffe valued preaching highly
and reckoned it the first duty
of the ordained. He preached
both in Latin (the language
of his extant sermons) and in English
depending on the audience. His ideas
meant that he gained a following and
younger ‘Wycliffite’ preachers may
have used and adapted his sermons
(giving us the English ‘Wycliffe’
sermons).
The evidence is not always clear,
but from his published sermons and
what we know of his life we can credit
Wycliffe’s effectiveness as a preacher to
three features:
● His sermons were designed to be
straightforward interpretations
of Scripture. Wycliffe was scathing
about preachers who used elaborate
sermon forms common at the time.
For Wycliffe, the point of preaching
was to uncover the meaning of the
gospel; Biblical exegesis was usually
followed by clear application, either
a comment on the evils of his day or
guidance in living as a Christian.

● Wycliffe was a polemicist. Always an
academic, his preaching engaged
the theological debates of the time.
He was also politically aware and
informed, having been employed in
the service of the government. But he
had radical views on the distribution
of property which coincided with the
unrest of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.
● Wycliffe could entertain. He would
deny that that was his purpose,
but he was enough of an orator to
know how to make his preaching
mellifluous. He could also be
outrageously, if amusingly, rude
about those with whom he disagreed.
Wycliffe’s preaching in London in
1376–7 seems to have made him
extremely popular; it is not hard to
see why. Listening to Wycliffe preach
must have been quite an experience
as he made the Scriptures come alive
with understandable exegesis, applied
it directly to the situation of his day,
and took caustic sideswipes at his
opponents.

Jonathan Hustler
1380

1384

1415

(December 31st)
Wycliffe died

Wycliffe censored and
silenced in Oxford

1381

Wycliffe retired to his
living at Lutterworth

LWPT8173 - Preach Magazine - Issue 1 v3.indd 55

Wycliffe declared
heretic

1412

Papal condemnation
of Wycliffe’s writings

Jonathan Hustler is a Methodist presbyter
who has served in three circuits and
as vice principal of Wesley House,
Cambridge. He teaches and writes
on church history, preaching, and
pastoral theology. He is now
Ministerial Coordinator for the
Oversight of Ordained Ministries
in the Connexional Team.

17/10/2014 12:54:11