What distinguishes capable preachers from humdrum preachers?

The ability to see things. It's as simple as that.

They don't go through life like Mr. Magoo, myopically missing the brilliant hues, interesting sights, and exciting occurrences in their environment. Instead, they are like Zorba, in Kazantzakis's novel, who sees everything as if for the first time, and is always thrilled at viewing the shimmering sea in the early morning or encountering an absurd-looking donkey on a mountain road.

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The gospel we preach is incarnational. This means it is about what happens when mystery inhabits broken bread or a shared cup, when the shafts of sunlight strike the mottled leaves on the floor of the forest, when children throw back their heads and laugh, when an old man touches the gnarled and calloused hand of his wife, when a pigeon lands on the bench beside a girl eating her lunch in the park, when a rabbi strolls through an art gallery and pauses before a painting of the crucifixion.

The gospel ...