The Homily in the Algorithmic Age: Mediation, Delegation, and the Irreducibility of the Subject

The emergence of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses unprecedented challenges to homiletic practice, compelling a shift in focus from the textual proficiency of the machine to the ontological status of preaching itself. Through a theological-pastoral analysis anchored in sacramental dogmatics and in dialogue with digital religion, this article scrutinizes the validity of algorithmic mediation in the ministry of the Word. The study establishes a tripartite normative framework—assistance, delegation, and substitution—demonstrating that while technical support is legitimate in preparatory tasks, the syntactic success of generative models acts as a critical mirror, exposing a pre-existing crisis of frequently generic and standardized preaching. It concludes that, within a sacramental framework, the homily constitutes an unrepeatable liturgical and spiritual event, requiring the authority of an embodied subject vulnerable to their own message.