Abstract
This wide-ranging book comprises ten chapters, by six authors, of whom three are the editors of the collection. The first chapter is headed ‘Love in God’s presence: an invitation to prayer’, and all the other chapters have similarly structured titles, as we are invited also to worship, Scripture, the sacraments in general, baptism and the Eucharist in particular, evangelism and mission, justice and reconciliation, politics, and finally hospitality. The balance of the book is therefore less ‘social gospel’ than I expected, but the more ‘churchy’ chapters do each point towards social action and also ensure a godly foundation for worldly action.
While I enjoyed the chapters on prayer and worship, the one on Scripture seemed to argue its case with the vigour of one who has clearly in mind those with whom one disagrees. The three chapters on the sacraments were perhaps more than needed here. The book comes into its own with the final four chapters. I particularly appreciated the section on ‘service’ in the chapter by Melanie Marshall inviting us to ‘proclamation’. The following chapter on justice and reconciliation prompted me to do some further reading about truth and reconciliation commissions in South Africa and elsewhere.
The chapter on politics draws on a number of sources and sent me to look up Ambrose’s fiery homily on Naboth’s vineyard! The last chapter taught me that the Greek word for ‘hospitality’ is xenophilia, meaning ‘love of stranger’. Towards the end of this chapter, we read that ‘Christian hospitality challenges us to come to terms with our own identity as strangers in this world and calls us to step outside the comfort zones of our often narrow lives’ (p. 125). A good way to end the collection, I thought.
In the whole book, there is but one endnote – I make this remark not to criticize, but to show what kind of book this is. Each chapter does, however, end with a few questions for further reflection and a short bibliography and/or suggestions for further reading. At the end of the book there is an index of names and subjects. There is no index of biblical references, but all references to, for example, Luke’s Gospel, are noted in the index under ‘Luke’.
How might one use such a book? It could form the basis of a study course, or a series of home group meetings, for a group of dedicated readers, and the questions for reflection would help with this. However, the breadth of the book means that it serves merely as an introduction to a number of important topics.