Rowan Williams SPCK, 160 pages This is a book about stories. Rowan Williams has chosen 20 people from across the centuries who have proven to be beacons of illumination for the rest of us. He is candid about the daunting task of choosing these rather than others: “a book at least ten times the length of this one could be put together and still be incomplete.” Yet in these figures, we see glimpses of how the story of God is enacted in human beings, some with glaring faults who are nevertheless demonstrations of the light of Christ. Williams writes, “The Christian faith is the practice of making sense of lives that make sense of the world.” All of these stories in some way reveal Jesus’ story among us. They also compel us to think about our own stories and how they are making sense – or not – of our lives. This is a book of history spanning 20 centuries with Williams providing comments drawn from sermons, lectures and pastoral talks on each figure, beginning with St. Paul and … [Read more...]

Margaret Adams Parker & Katherine Sonderegger Eerdmans, 128 pages Once considered only for Roman Catholics (and a certain kind at that), many other Christians are taking up the ancient practice of praying the Stations of the Cross. In her memoir, “Accidental Saints,” Nadia Bolz-Weber described the practice at the House of Saints and Sinners. Those concerned about social justice and the way of the Jesus’ suffering have walked their neighborhood praying the stations of the cross. Both Daniel Berrigan and Henri Nouwen joined with artists to draw a clear line from Jesus’ suffering to our lives as disciples. Now we have this extraordinary guide to such practice. This combination of art and theology opens the way of understanding – and indeed experiencing – the cross and resurrection of Jesus at the heart of the gospel. Both Parker and Sonderegger bring theological depth and deep attention to Scripture to this work. That is what makes it so valuable as a guide to prayer and … [Read more...]

Martha L. Moore-Keish WJK Press, 205 pages One might ask, as the author candidly does, why another commentary on James? After all, she asks, didn’t James urge listening and encourage the brevity of words? James reminds his audience that words are the source of destruction, cruelty and pain. Martin Luther famously described the book of James as mere straw and would rather it not be in the canon. Yet, Martha Moore-Keish, associate professor of theology at Columbia Theological Seminary, boldly and clearly replies to such comments that the book of James may in fact be crucial for living in these times. While noting the irony of a commentary on a book that cautions against the misuse of words, she gives three reasons for a new exploration: the wisdom contained herein, the uniqueness of its place in the New Testament and a counter-story to Luther’s approach to the book. She proceeds along these lines. The value of this commentary, like the others in this series, is the theological … [Read more...]

Arianne Braithwaite Lehn Chalice Press, 144 pages Arianne Braithwaite Lehn is a pilgrim. She makes that abundantly clear in this set of prayers composed over years of daily praying. She is a pilgrim who sees the whole of life as an opportunity to experience the reality of God’s presence. That divine reality is both known and evoked in prayer that arises from the heart. The prayers here display her deep conviction that we are ash and starlight, humanity formed of earth and heaven. As she puts it, “Prayer is how I pilgrimage through the dust and splendor of my own life.” The death of her beloved father during her pregnancy became an occasion to go deeper. It also launched her courage to put these prayers into print after praying them weekly during her pastoral ministry. In doing so, Braithwaite Lehn has joined the company of John Baillie, providing daily prayers in ordinary language for her readers whom she describes as “sibling pilgrims” on a journey. Each prayer is for a specific … [Read more...]

Greg Garrett and Sabrina Fountain WJK Press, 376 pages How I love this new book! Let me count the ways. I could be begin with the luminous essay by Sabrina Fountain in the foreword that sets the deep purpose for this collection. There she describes her own love for books that provide more than solace and more than inspiration. They are more like the ground on which we stand. Fountain says something I understand: “I have a deep reverence for books and still find them profoundly comforting as physical objects.” This book is about the content within great literature that sustains the mind and heart throughout a lifetime. That, too, is what I love. She and co-author Greg Garrett have gathered a wide array of voices from literature across the centuries. It’s obvious the care that has gone into the selection. The title itself comes from a line said by preacher John Ames in “Gilead,” the now classic by Marilynne Robinson. As if literature were not enough, the authors have … [Read more...]