PT Media Picks: Books

Lenten devotions

Sacred Space for Lent 2007

by the Jesuit Communication Centre of Ireland (Ave Maria Press, 2005; 58 pages; $2.25, paper)

In this welcome addition to the world’s collection of Lenten devotionals, readers will find a meditative, seven-stage approach to daily prayer and Scripture that could help make Lent the truly meaningful journey Christians know it should be. While this sounds idealistic — and it is — the Scripture meditations and prayers in this beautifully written book from the famous Jesuit Communication Centre of Ireland are anything but. Throughout the daily entries — or daily exercises, one could say — is the explicit acknowledgement of the human condition in all of its fallen splendor: our hunger for God, our dependence on grace, and (perhaps most importantly) our sad, stubborn difficulty in accepting this grace.

Also exceptional here is the choice of Old and New Testament Scripture, both of which reveal a compassionate God constantly reaching out to all of humanity. (No supposedly angry “Old Testament God” here!) While designed specifically for use between February and April of 2007, the book could easily offer insights all year, any year, to anyone with eyes to see and ears to listen.

—R. Dale Smith, M.A.T.S. ‘06, Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education

A year with the Bible

Through the Bible, Through the Year

by John Stott (Baker Books, 2006; 432 pages; $24.99, hardcover)

So your New Year’s resolution was to read the Bible through in a year, but you need some help? Evangelical pastor John Stott, author of Basic Christianity, comes to the rescue. He has compiled daily reflections taking you from Genesis to Revelation in 365 days. You can begin on any Sunday in the year, or you can follow the liturgical calendar by reading each of three parts at a designated time.

Each daily meditation begins with a key verse from the day’s Scripture passage, continues with Stott’s reflection on the passage and ends with a suggestion “for further reading” that leads you to a related passage in the Bible. Each week is preceded by a reflection on the theme you will encounter as you read along with Stott.

There are quite a few helps out there for people who want to read the Bible all the way through. This one combines sound Biblical scholarship with good storytelling.

—Teresa Blythe

New views on aging

The Living Spirit of the Crone: Turning Aging Inside Out

by Sally Palmer Thomason (Fortress, 2006; 153 pages; $17, paper)

Aging gets a bad rap in our youth-oriented culture. Stereotypes of old people abound, yet as Sally Palmer Thomason found when she researched the subject, “aging is a highly individualized process.” For a huge percentage of elderly persons it means living independently and in relatively good health.

Thomason, who was raised Presbyterian, is the former dean of the Meerman Center for Special Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. When she hit her mid-sixties, she blossomed and became very interested in how people — especially women — really age, as opposed to what the stereotypes of the frail, dependent and needy old person indicate. She listened to stories of many older women and relates them in powerful word portraits that illustrate the varied ways they approach aging.

Thomason weaves together strong theology, bio-medical and new scientific findings and her own feminist experience of “coming of age” late in life for an easy-to-read and compelling study of the changes we go through as we age. Reclaiming the title of crone — which is commonly used to mean “worn-out old woman” but also means “ancient holy one” — Thomason succeeds in helping us come to terms with and accept the passing of days. This is a delightful book for women or men of any age.

—Teresa Blythe

Losing one’s life in the church

Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith

by Barbara Brown Taylor (HarperCollins, 2006; 234 pages; $23.95, hardcover)

In Leaving Church, Barbara Brown Taylor tells her story of finding life, losing life and finding it yet again. Her eloquent tale captures the essence of one who clearly believed that she had been called to serve “the flock.” In the midst of her journey she found herself overwhelmed by her sense of call and its cost, which left her in a state of extreme physical, emotional and spiritual exhaustion. She experienced an intense sense of aloneness that kept her from being fully human. And yet, just as Jesus bid his disciples to lose their life in order to gain it, Taylor found that by leaving her life as a congregational priest, a life she loved and felt that God had called her into, she found her life-blood, her hope and her humanity again.

Jesus knew the unending demands of human need, yet he insisted on the necessity of rest and the recharging of batteries. The Christian life is a communal responsibility of love and must be shared by clergy and laity if it is to be meaningful. Taylor’s love for the churches she served, and her heartache as she felt God’s call away from them, resonates with all who love congregations. Her honesty summons Christians to honor their humanity and to listen to any distress or uneasiness they may feel in their work or present situations. God may be nudging them toward a change that helps them love God and neighbor better because they have honored the limitations of being human.

This journey is not an isolated story in our time. Readers may find that their own lives parallel Taylor’s sense of loss and new sense of call as they seek God’s leading in their personal and congregational lives.

— Ron Case, elder, and Deborah L. Matthews, associate pastor, Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church, Grosse Ile, Mich.