There’s a tried-and-true formula for a good homily—taught in just about every seminary and preaching program: make three points.
In the case of Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries, it’s: tell three stories—one to make you laugh, one to make you think, and one to move your heart. “It’s always three—never two, never one,” he says. Especially when preaching to young people who are stressed, traumatized or incarcerated, he’s learned: If you’re not telling stories, they’re not listening.
This year, we invited Greg to be our featured preacher on “Preach” for Easter Sunday. I had the joy of speaking with him about how he chooses the stories he tells in his books and homilies, carefully balancing the grit of his personal experiences with pastoral wisdom and care.
We talked about how vulnerability—openness to our own wounds and those of others—and deep compassion shape his life, his theology and his ministry, and how they find their way into his preaching, carrying their weight behind prison walls and far beyond.
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With thanks to America and Preach, where this article originally appeared.
