Anne Lamott Riverhead Books, 190 pages To put it mildly, mercy is in short supply these days. Children flee their homes with no place to go and wash up on shores. Some are shocked, others are too busy to notice and there are those who scoff at pleas for compassion. Mercy is a venerable word and a practice embedded in the Bible. But it seems to have been forgotten in these days of white-hot politics and violent attacks. Fortunately, Anne Lamott is rediscovering mercy. This collection of essays may be her finest. Without wavering from her search to find mercy, she tells stories, filled with her characteristic honest wit, that illuminate the clues of its presence. They amount to an invitation — a hopeful summons to pay close attention to acts of mercy. Lamott has taken seriously the prophet Micah whose words became for her a new call. What might it mean to love mercy? She goes in search of that question and the result is this book. She writes: “The world keeps going on. You can … [Read more...]

David E. Gray Parson’s Porch, 112 pages David Gray has written a helpful book that explores the art of a carefully written “good word.” Not only does Gray examine the various uses of blessings in Jewish and Christian scriptural traditions, he also briefly describes the Reformed understanding along with other church traditions. Why so much attention to a brief liturgical gesture? Gray is persuaded by psychological studies that the first and last words in any spoken event have the most influence on the listeners. It is particularly true for the last word, which is remembered more than any other. He wants worship leaders to pay careful attention to the charge and benediction because people will remember this word throughout the week. The benediction is critical because it sums up the entire worship service in a crisp manner that is portable. In addition to the well-known blessings found in the New Testament epistles and sprinkled through the Old Testament, there are other poetic … [Read more...]

Rowan Williams Bloomsbury Continuum, 240 pages I have often thought that Rowan Williams becoming Archbishop of Canterbury was the best thing for the Anglican Communion. That tenure lasted a stormy 10 years until Williams resigned, returning to his first love: teaching theology and writing on contemporary concerns. Since that time, there has been considerable effort to collect his various essays. Those collected in this book display Williams’ theological and pastoral depth and is accessible for a wide range of readers. His main theme is living into “holiness,” an old-fashioned word that Williams brilliantly recovers for contemporary Christians. He discusses prayer and spirituality from several angles including that of Teresa of Ávila and Julian of Norwich, two women who hold a special place in his rendering of the Christian life. For those wondering about health and healing, Williams writes, “We need to recover the sense that the Gospel is always about healing, because it is … [Read more...]