15. S. 95.1–2 (PL 38:581); my trans. Cf. doc. Chr. 1.1; s. 339.4.
The Preacher 127 who can make sure that we say what we should say and in a way we should say it except the One in whose "hands are both we and our words" (Wis 7:16)? Therefore, anyone who wants both to be knowledgeable and to teach should certainly learn everything necessary for teaching and acquire speaking skills appropriate for a man of the Church. Yet as the hour for speaking nears, he should consider what the Lord says as well suited for a good frame of mind: "Do not be anxious about what to say or how to say it; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you" (Mt 10:19–20). Therefore, if the Holy Spirit speaks in those who are delivered to their persecutors for the sake of Christ, why will He not speak in those who deliver Christ to those intent on learning?14
The Bread of the Word
Augustine sometimes spoke of his task as preacher as feeding hearers with the bread of God's word. He opens the following sermon on Jesus' multiplying the seven loaves (Mk 8:1–9) by discussing his own role as God's table-servant. From Sermon 95:
(1) When I set out the holy Scriptures for you, it's as though I were breaking open bread for you. You the hungry, come, get it. Belch forth praises from your well-fed hearts. And you who are wealthy and have fine tables, don't be cheap in your good deeds and works. What I spend on you is not mine. What you eat, I eat. What you live on, I live on. We have in heaven a common storehouse, for from it comes the Word of God.
(2) [After explaining how the seven loaves in the Gospel story symbolize the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, Augustine adds:] When I explain these things to you, I am waiting table on Christ. You, when you listen quietly, are reclining at table. I may be seated here physically [in the bishop's chair], but in my heart, I am standing and waiting table on you, anxious not about the food, but worried that the dishes it's served on not offend any of you. You know God's fine feast, you hear it often. Our minds, not our stomachs, yearn for it.15
14. Doc. Chr. 4.15.32 (Green, 234–36); my trans. 15. S. 95.1–2 (PL 38:581); my trans. Cf. doc. Chr. 1.1; s. 339.4.