Christian Wiman, editor Yale University Press, 232 pages Joy? One might blanch at the thought of poems on a subject that seems frivolous in the face of such suffering in the world. That’s understandable. The author himself is no stranger to personal suffering. That story is told in his memoir “My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer.” Here he takes up a bold exposition of joy through a selection of 100 poems collected from an array of poets. Along the way he admits joy is “that tired word ... used to peddle soap and salvation, the word requires some rehabilitation.” What a beautiful work Wiman has done in rehabilitating joy as the perfect response to world of pain. His opening essay is a sublime testimony to the deep transformative experience of joy as told in poetry. He then unexpectedly presents a way forward with joy as a guide so that readers will not live frivolously, but rather boldly and courageously. These poems range across time and the poets across a wide expanse … [Read more...]
Winter books: Briefly noted
The Canticle of the Creatures for Saint Francis of Assisi Luigi Santucci Paraclete Press, 144 pages The world is the theater of God’s glory, said John Calvin. Saint Francis actually reveled in that glory, experiencing creatures and creation as windows into the experience of God. This is a beautiful book of art combined with readings from Saint Francis. This book will bring you delight and send you into the world that Calvin said ravished him with beauty. Love Big, Be Well: Letters to a Small-Town Church Winn Collier Eerdmans, 176 pages These short stories honor small and close relationships. They speak of the church as a community and resist “large” as the measure of success. Written in the vein of Eugene Peterson and Michael Lindvall, the stories will give hope to those pastors who want nothing more than to love their people, preach the gospel and pray with them. “Small is beautiful” never seemed more true than the way it is displayed in these letters. Pastors and members … [Read more...]
Four Birds of Noah’s Ark: A Prayer Book from the Time of Shakespeare
Thomas Dekker (Robert Hudson, editor) Eerdmans, 176 pages This is a most unusual book – and a lovely one at that. Robert Hudson, the poet and scholar whose works include “Kiss the Earth When You Pray,” has done the world a great favor by retrieving this old book of prayers. Written during the chaos of the early 16th century, Dekker was a contemporary of William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. Neither a theologian nor a minister, he was a playwright of considerable skill and notoriety. Dekker lived through four London plagues and several stints in debtors’ prison, as well as witnessing the publication of the King James Bible in 1611 when he was 31 years old. These prayers are arranged in four sections named for birds and corresponding to the people for whom the prayers are written. They include the entire human family from poor to rich and in every circumstance. “The Dove being the most humble bird of all, represents the prayers of everyday working people.” The Eagle is the … [Read more...]
The Third Peacock: The Problem of God and Evil
Robert Farrar Capon Winston Press, 82 pages Why mention a book that was first published over 40 years ago? Simply because it remains one of the finest theological treatments of God and evil. It’s a classic that deserves fresh reading (and rewards re-reading). The late Robert Farrar Capon is known for his trilogy on the parables. No one proclaims the radical nature of grace with more theological clarity, exegetical depth and humor than Capon. Once you read Capon reveal how astonishing grace is, it’s nearly impossible to not notice it spilling all over the place. In this early book, he takes on the problem of God and evil with his usual wit and refreshing style of writing. This is not your typical theodicy. Capon is honest about his intent: “This book simply tries to remove the theological blinders that keep us from seeing – in both our own case and God’s – the way things really are.” Here is a theology of creation grounded in God’s delight that allows for the “way things are” rather … [Read more...]
A prayer after the Texas church killings
Merciful God, I don't expect you to stop a speeding bullet from killing one of your beloved in a church, at a concert, a school, a theater or a battlefield. I don't expect you to stop a careening truck from mowing down your beloved on bicycles or strolling along a path among trees, flowers and singing vendors. I don't expect you to perform miracles or demand that you save the innocent and absolve us of responsibility to do the same. When miracles come, I'm grateful for the gift without absolution. I do not ask for the laws of nature to be overturned, while we break your law of love, and refuse to do what is right in your sight. I do ask you to pour out mercy - somehow - upon those who mourn, that they would find a measure of consolation, a balm for their wounded hearts, arms to embrace them with love. I believe you suffer with us and for us as one with us. I do ask once more and again that from the carnage will rise courage, that guns will no longer rule … [Read more...]
The Ecumenism of Beauty
Timothy Verdon, editor Paraclete Press, 128 pages It was Prince Myshkin in Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot” who famously said, “Beauty will save the world.” To which the iconoclastic Protestant might respond: “No! Jesus saves the world.” That is the common divide that this book seeks to overcome. Art and beauty can be the bridge that brings together diverse people and can be an instrument of communion. This beautiful book, edited by the art historian Timothy Verdon, was written for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation that divided the church and, for Protestants, deeply separated art from faith. Rather than divide as it originally did, leaving ornate sanctuaries on the one hand (Roman Catholic) and austere ones on the other (Protestant), these writers believe art can bring people of faith together. The authors are Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant artists, pastors and scholars who address a variety of subjects pertaining to art and beauty in each tradition. In his … [Read more...]
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