Moltmann’s picture implies, we who preach get up from our place in the midst of the congregation, and then we walk to the pulpit and stand in front of the people. There is a distance between us and them, and often we feel this distance keenly. We want to speak the gospel to them, the gospel of grace and demand, and yet we sometimes stand there looking out at people who could hardly seem less receptive. Because we come from them, we know them, know their apathies and divisions, know their broken places and their dull ears—which are, of course, ours, too.
