Carlo Emil N.

Boado
Homiletics I
Augustine's Witnessing of the Truth
Restless Heart is a very helpful movie which presents different aspects and points which can be
applied in the preaching ministry to be an effective proclaimer of the Gospel. In the movie, there are
four characters with which we can pick up important qualities and techniques in preaching.
First of these characters is Macrobius, the one who influenced Augustine. He was very effective
because of his style of speaking as an orator. He uses the phrase 'these are facts, not words' in order to
persuade people to believe what he is saying. This is a very effective phrase indeed since he insinuates
and emphasizes to the people that facts are more important than words, that we ought to believe more
in what the facts presents since they represents the reality more than only mere words. Future homilists
may learn from Macrobius' style of persuasion: that presenting the facts to the people which are
evidential in reality and are experience-based appeals more to them than mere ideas which are only in
the minds. But we must also be very careful in the truths that we let them see. We must make sure that
we do not deceive them by saying as facts those that really are not.
Monica, Augustine's mother, is another effective example in the movie. Although she only has a
very few points to share, has a great impact on Augustine's future preaching ministry. The most
important contribution of Monica is her preaching through witnessing. She teaches Augustine that
words cannot change the facts, that no matter how well you persuade people with your words, if they
do not represent the facts, then they will always be empty words, lies in that case. Monica proved
Augustine through her witnessing that the Truth will always be, nothing more nothing less.
Bishop Ambrose is another effective preacher to whom we can learn many things in the
ministry of preaching. Bishop Ambrose speaks firmly like a herald, a messenger of the Truth. He uses
the idea of the Truth in order to lead Augustine to search deeper to what really is truth. He teaches
Augustine that this Truth is indeed not any abstract idea but a living being.. that this Truth is indeed a
man, that by knowing him, one's life will be changed forever. He interprets the Truth to Augustine. As
both teacher and interpreter, Ambrose successfully introduced Jesus Christ to the life of Augustine, and
his life eventually was renewed. His very systematic way of revealing Jesus to Augustine as the Truth is
an excellent way to note and be used too as a technique in revealing some important lessons to people
especially those who cannot yet understand or are overwhelmed by big ideas which will turn out to be
incomprehensible to those who are new to those idea. It is best to unveil it in an approach that is
gradual yet uncompromising.
Lastly, one can conclude that Augustine has acquired the preaching techniques of these three
influential persons in his life. Towards the end f the movie, Augustine became a very well known and
effective preacher. Without his experiences of his mother Monica, the orator Macrobius and of Bishop
Ambrose, he will not become an effective teacher and interpreter of the Gospel to his flock, nor become
a messenger or herald of truth, nor write effectively books which involves his life as a witness to the
Gospel. His book The Confessions is one of the most famous autobiography ever written. Why? Simply
because Augustine as a preacher who witnessed effectively on how the Truth Jesus Chris, affected his
life and so was changed into the man God wants him to be.