It seems to me the idea that preaching can be non-political is a homiletical counterpart to the illusion that there can be "non-contextual" (i.e. "pure") theology.

We all do theology from a context, and the way our theology is shaped by our context is often most evident to those in different contexts than us. That's because we're not always aware of how our own social embeddedness impacts our thinking.

Likewise, we're all shaped by political structures, which are an inherent part of our social context. When preachers claim to apply biblical texts in a "nonpolitical" way, their silence often discloses their own privileged relationship to said political structures.

Often the most political sermons are ones that say nothing about politics and, by their silence, endorse a political status quo that benefits the preacher and/or congregation. Thus, preachers inevitably address politics, either explicitly by words or implicitly by silence.

@KaitlynSchiess, I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on this thread if you have a moment. I'm still working on processing and expressing all this myself.