If you want to explore Judaism,a good place to start would be Judaism by Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg. The subtitle is: The Classic Introduction to One of the Great Religions of the Modern World. This is the product of a lifetime of study and reflection by one of the most distinguished authorities on Judaism.
Inside the School of Charity by Trisha Day, is about her three months living within the Trappistine cloister with the sisters of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey near Dubuque, IA. Trisha, a member of the Associates of Iowa Cistercians, reflects on the ways her experience with the sisters helps to inform her everyday life outside the cloister. Many feel that this is a nigh inpossible task, but she does this very well. The values and practices of the Cistercian order are transferable and valuable for any person wanting to live a meaningful life, either on the “inside” or the “outside”. I have known Trisha and share in the membership of the AIC for many years, and promise you a ftuitful read in this book.
If you want to get another perspective on the situation in Afghanistan and the Taliban you need to read Three Cups of Tea by Gret Mortenson. He is trying to promote peace one school at a time. The book written in 2006 still promotes much soul searching. Would that our leaders have consulted with him so many years ago.
In my ongoing effort to understand the dialogue between religion and science I have encountered two books. Paul Carr in Beauty in Science and Spirit goes deeply into the age old insight that revelation and science have their roots in the human quest and attraction to and for beauty. Walter Thirring in Cosmic Impressions explores the traces of God in the laws of nature. Both books assume a lot of scientific, mathematical literacy of which I have a small amount. But like all books whose authors are respected authorities in their domains, these give glimpses of the ongoing search for truth from the scientific perspective.
I wonder when Rabbi Bryon L. Sherwin wrote his book Golems Among Us in 2004, if he even suspected the radical events that would unfold in our economy a year ago? His examination of the Jewish concept of the golem,(a human creation) one that could serve humanity or wreak havoc is so relevant to many of the issues that beset us today. He looks at biotechnology, corporations and more in his broad ranging reflection that mines the riches of his Jewish traditions. This is a book to ponder.
Alva Noe, a neurologist,in his book Out of Our Heads, takes us into new territory in the discussion of where consciousness resides. He challenges the concept that it is in the brain. The subtitle: “Why you are not your brain, and other lessons from the biology of consciousness” pretty much explains his thesis.
A provocative read is The Future of Faith. by Harvey Cox. He reflects on Christian history and speculates on Christian future. His premise is that we are entering into what he calls the age of the Spirit, having gone through ages of faith and belief. He says: “Today there is no basis for any “warfare between science and religion.” The two have quite different but complementary missions, the first concerning itself with empirical description, the second with meaning and values. Unfortunately, however, although the war is over, sporadic skirmishes between die-hards on both sides continue. Biblical literalists, who totally misunderstand the poetry of the book of Genesis, try to reduce it to a treatise in geology and zoology. Their mirror image is found among the atheists and agnostics who mount spurious pseudoscientific arguments to demonstrate that the universe has no meaning or that God does not exist. Both parties are fundamentalists of a sort, deficient in their capacity for metaphor, analogy, and the place of symbol and myth in human life. Sadly, battle lines that were drawn years ago continue to cause confusion today. Otherwise thoughtful people still mistakenly view the world as divided between “believers” and “nonbelievers.” But that era of human consciousness is almost over. We are witnessing the emergence of a different vocabulary, one that is closer to the original sense of the word “faith” before its debasement. Pgs. 182-3.”
Often, what seems like a tragedy, turns out to be a gift. Amir D. Aczel, in his The Jesuit & The Skull, gives us the heroic struggle that Teilhard de Chardin endured in his quest to bring together science and faith. The agony of exile turns out to be the laboratory of discovery. The long years of silencing forced Teilhard deeper than he might have gone if his energies had he spent traveling to speak to the multitudes who would have been attracted to his insights. His deep relationships with both men and women radiates in his understanding of love. For a while his thoughts were suppressed. Now his name and wisdom is popping up everywhere. If you are just beginning to explore the man, his life and work, this is a good book to start with.
A provocative book “The Great Emergence” by Phyllis Tickle attempts to examine the ways religion has changed and is changing today. She especially examines Christianity in what is known as the Western world. She finds that about every 500 years, a shift happens and the old paradigm bursts and a new way of being Christian in the world emerges out of its chrysalis and the new ‘butterfly’ takes flight. I found this examination useful and sets me to wondering and watching to see what will emerge.
Beatrice Bruteau has once again given us a transformational work in The Grand Option: Personal Transformation and a New Creation. The last words of this challenging work are: “If I am asked, then, “Who do you say I am?” my answer is: “You are the new and ever renewing act of creation. You are all of us, as we are united in You. You are all of us as we live in one another. You are all of us in the whole cosmos as we join in Your exuberant act of creation. You are the Living One who improvises at the frontier of the future; and it has not yet appeared what You shall be.” This Trinitarian insight permeates the entire work and gives us a clue to what the next step in our human evolution is to be. As I read this book I was reminded of the scenes in Washington DC the day of the inauguration.
A book that is a timely read by Benjamin Barber, Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole. NY. W. W. Norton & Co. 2007, could point a what to what “change” might be all about. Change that creates services and things that we really need, not just a different/newer/bigger version of what we already have. Barber highlights how we have become confused by the marketing media to believing more is better when what we really need is quality.
William P. Young has written a best selling book that invites you to open your mind and heart to a totally innovative way of relating to God and the Trinity in The Shack. A father, whose image of God was distorted by an abusive father, comes to a revelation by way of a tragedy. The miracle of transformation is brought about by his suffering and being brought to freedom through forgiveness. Be prepared to come away from this book with new and exciting questions.
The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus is the most engaging book. ““What would Jesus Do?” remains a problematic question because it implies that it is Jesus’ role to enter into our world and become the solution to our problems, when we are meant to live as bravely and as fully in our world and time as Jesus lived in his. (78) “The love of God is not just a sentimental obligation but the incorporation of a worldview that we respond to God as God acts toward us.” (Pg. 79) This is work worth pondering.
A student of mine recently gave me a “must read” book. As I like to be able to discuss books that “everyone” is reading I put it on my book stand. It seems that hundreds of thousands of people are clicking on to an online book discussion group from the newest Oprah book selection. Eckart Tolle in “A New Earth“, seems to have touched a new energy that people all over the earth are resonating to in a powerful way. In these days of people calling themselves “spiritual” but not “religious” he has tapped into a well of energy that seems to have a lot of potential. You may want to buy or borrow this book to get in on the discussion.
Hans Kung has given us, what in effect is his life testament in The Beginning of all Things: Science and Religion. In it he concludes: “This is my enlightened, well –founded hope: dying is a farewell inward, and entry and homecoming into the ground and origin of the world, our true home, a farewell perhaps not without pain and anxiety, but hopefully in composure and surrender, at any rate without weeping and wailing, and without bitterness and despair, but rather in hopeful expectation, quiet certainty, and (after everything that has to be settled is settled) ashamed gratitude for all the good things and less good things that now finally and definitively lie behind us – thank God.” He gathers up a life time of study and reflection and brings us up to date on the dialogue between science and religion so that we can be both/and people like Jesus of Nazareth.
If you want to explore the impact of those events that are highly improbable but have tremendous effects on our lives and culture I recommend Nassim Taleb’s The Black Swan. The author only mentions one passage in Matthew’s gospel, but anyone studying scripture can identify many examples of a black swan event that forever changed history. The book left me with a stronger affinity for what I have been calling Sneaky Spirit events for many years.
Recently a friend loaned me The Velveteen Principles which is based on the much loved children’s (really adult) book The Velveteen Rabbit. It was a delight to read such a clear exposition of the process of becoming “real”. You might want to treat yourself or a friend with these books which can also come in a gift package.
Two new books, The Assault on Reason by Al Gore, and Failing America’s Faithful by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend would make for good summer reading. The first helps to focus our thinking on our founders as a country, and the second on our founders in faith. They might be especially helpful as we try to muddle our way through the confusing spin we are surrounded by as we try to make sense out of what is going on in the world.
The View from the Center of the Universe by Joel Primack and Nancy Ellen Abrams is a mind expanding experience. It will take you to the tiniest to the extreme vastness of what we are beginning to know and get you to wondering about your place in all this wonder. Much has been said that we need to have a new creation story. This book will introduce you to the fundamentals of what that story might be and your place in that story.
Radical Hospitality by Daniel Homan, OSB and Lonni Collins Pratt is a powerful book. It opens up the understanding of monastic hospitality to everyone who is willing and able to open their heart to listening. On the last page we find: “It is a courageous thing to keep getting up every day, and it is a much more courageous thing to rouse your heart and incline it to love. To care for each other, to open the door to the stranger, to open your heart to the stranger, lifts you up into the great dance of life.” Savoring this book gives you insights on how to do this marvelous dance.
In Good Company by James Martin, SJ tells a modern day tale reminiscent of Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain. A young man fast on his way up the corporate ladder finds himself asking “is this all there is” and wanders into the Jesuit order. I say wander because the path he takes often makes one wonder how he or anyone else in his situation could awaken to the answer to this basic question from such a “enviable” life position. He faces the question of our age with grace.
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt is “as good as writing gets about teaching and learning”. Best selling author of Angela’s Ashes mines his years of teaching high school English in the New York city schools for this engaging book.
For one more day by Mitch Albom, author of Tuesday’s with Morrie, tells the story of a man who was “given” one more day with his mother after a near fatal car crash that happened on his way back to his hometown as he planned to end his life.
The Language of God by Francis Collins of the human genome project is described as “a scientist presents evidence for belief”. Collins moved through agnosticism to atheism, ending up in faith because of his science. This is a readable book by a courageous author who is engaging all of us in a re-examination of this contentious issue.
We often absorb the media presentation of Islam without any way of assessing its accuracy. Standing Alone in Mecca is a work that can help to remedy this lack. Asra Nomani struggles to make sense of her own religious tradition of Islam with many of the same misunderstandings until she makes the journey to Mecca. There she discovers that her tradition of faith is being perverted by those whose grab for power have hijacked Islam in much the way as the Crusaders (then and now) do Christianity and the Zionists are abusing Judaism. This work is a powerful antidote for the poison of hate engendered by our ignorance today.
How did humanity keep track of things? From One to Zero is a fascinating account of how people from all time and all places devised ways to record and compute amounts of things. The tale is as engrossing as the origin of language itself. This exhaustive examination, with illustrations to help visualize the process is now available used for very little money.
If you want to explore a unique examination on the book of Genesis, you would enjoy The Beginning of Wisdom by Leon Kass. He develops his material around “God’s new way” as opposed to the “natural way”. In a review of this book I found: For the past 20 years, Kass has offered a seminar on Genesis in which he and his students at the University of Chicago read it as a philosophical classic in the same way one would read Plato or Nietzsche.
For an examination of values and their origins in natural and human history you might like to read Genes, Genesis and God by Holmes Rolston, III.
The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong is an interesting take on the role of religion and society. In these days were we confront so much ignorance about each others religions and have little historical background on their role in history, this would be a good book to remedy some of this ignorance.
Casey, Michael. Strangers to the City. Paraclete Press. Brewster. CT. 2005.. Reflections on the beliefs and values of the rule of St. Benedict.
A new book that really makes clear the rapidity of the changes in our world is The World is Flat. The amazing variety and speed that we are faced with at work, school and home, really highlights the ever increasing need to take time out to renew ourselves. The Ark is such a place to consider.
If you want a book with a quality daily reflection I would like to encourage you to find “The Book of Awakening” by Mark Nepo. The subtitle is “Having the life you want by being present to the life you have”. A few minutes a day with this author and you might find yourself savoring your moments in a new and more life giving way.
Christopher Merrill has given us an experience of his many visits to Mt. Athos in “Things of the Hidden God”. You can then visit Mt. Athos‘ web site at and see pictures of the places he describes. You will have an experience of Orthodoxy that can enrich your prayer life.
Anita Diamant had written a novel The Red Tent that opens you to the world of women in the times of the biblical Jacob and his tribe. In an engaging format you will be ushered into what life was probably like for women and children in our early faith history.
In these days of extreme haste and crowded schedules we need to remember the wisdom of the Sabbath rest. Wayne Mueller has given us a gift of this book Sabbath that can help you to do this. Bringing the balance back into your life is its goal.
It is often said that we need a new approach to the creation story, that can bring together what we are learning about God’s creative process. This one is full of delight. Delight enough to share with our children and grandchildren. Jennifer Morgan and Dana Lynne Andersen have begun this process in the first of their efforts titled Born With a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story. Like so many children’s sermons that speak powerfully to adults because of their creativity and simplicity, this first of several books intended to retell the story is a treasure. Now the second of this series is available called From Lava to Life.
If you ever have that “something missing” feeling, and a longing for what that missing reality might be, you will profit from reading The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality by Fr. Ronald Rolheiser. The simple and straightforward language of this book invites a cup of something and a quiet corner to appreciate its great gifts. Fr. Rolheiser has 2 more books that I know you will enjoy and profit from reading. They are Against an Infinite Horizon and The Shattered Lantern: Rediscovering a Felt Presence of God. Check them out.
With our new emphasis on what we call “Jesus’ Bible”, I am recommending Jesus Through Jewish Eyes compiled by Beatrice Bruteau. Nineteen contributors were invited to tell us how Jesus would look to them as Jews of the 21st century. They were to suppose that they could go back to Jesus himself, before Christianity, before all those theological elaborations, when he was simply a Jew among Jews. What would he be like? Could a modern Jew imagine that, and if so, how would the view come out?
If you are in the mood to dive deeply into a work that can help you get the ‘big picture’ of how we have come to an understanding of freedom and grace in the Christian tradition, I invite you to explore a new work called A Gadamerian Reading of Karl Rahner’s Theology of Grace and Freedom by Dr. Carmichael C. Peters.
A Love That Dares to Question: A Bishop Challenges His Church, by Bishop John Heaps from Australia, is a courageous little book with much packed into its119 pages. Written in 1998 before all the chaos became so well known, it gives guidance and hope to confront the needs of the church today. Well worth the price at under $10.00…
A Vow of Conversation by Thomas Merton edited by Naomi Burton Stone.
Journeys on the Edge: The Celtic Tradition By Thomas O’Loughlin brings us a look at what has been called Celtic spirituality. He looks at original sources of the first millennium, which can help us understand much of what we inherited from these early Irish ancestors in faith.
Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life by Gregg Michael Levoy could easily win my “book of the year” nomination. Every life consists of a series of “calls”, urging us to keep on keeping on in our growth in faith and love. This is an easy to read book, full of examples of others who were negotiating the tight passages to authenticity. You will find some of your own struggles in their stories, as well as suggestions of where to identify the Spirit’s activity in your life. Jean Huston says: “ It’s like the remembrance of everything you knew but then forgot.” So true!
Process, Person, Presence by Raymond Parr. This book is out of print by Amazon will query used book stores for a copy. This book earned my “book of the year” award when it came out.
Myths, Models, and Paradigms by Ian G. Barbour. This is also out of print, but can be sought at the used book capability.
A Marginal Jew by John P. Meier. A “Rethinking the Historical Jesus”.
Rilke’s Book of Hours translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy. The subtitle is “Love Poems to God”.
These poems were considered by Rilke to be spontaneously received prayers. He shares with us a new kind of intimacy with God, finding the divine in the ordinary. Our role is to love the world and thereby love God into being.
The Hand of God edited by Michael Reagan and is introduced by Sharon Begley. The pictures are breathtakingly beautiful, and the quotes that are paired with the pictures of galaxies, stars and the earth taken from space provide material for meditation.
Thoughts Matter by Mary Margaret Funk This is a very good aide in the practice of the spiritual life. Our thoughts matter but often not in the way that we think thay do.
The Reflexive Universe by Arthur Young
One reviewer says of this book; “With our world teetering between senseless self-destruction and spiritual transformation, here is a comprehensive paradigm of hope.” The subtitle is: Evolution of Consciousness.
Genes, Genesis and God by Holmes Rolston, III A clear and thorough exploration of the role of genes in the evolutionary history and human life.
The Gift by Lewis Hyde The gift is an inquiry into the place of creativity in our market-oriented society. It covers the role of gift giving in societies down through time and examines the changes in this power filled exchange since the advent of modern capitalism.
Who we are is How we Pray by Charles Keating Matching personality types and forms of spirituality based on the16 types of the Myers-Briggs instrument. God does not violate nature, and will not intrude where God’s invitation cannot be heard.
Seasons of Grace by Mother Gail Fizpatrick Wisdom from the cloister. A collection of scriptural-based reflections, that can be seen as a monastic retreat that we hold in our hands. You can also order it by going to: http://www.mississippiabbey.org
Called to be Friends by Paula Ripple A significant exploration of the roots and process of friendship.
Growing Strong at Broken Places by Paula Ripple Seeking meaning in the pain-filled moments of life.
Images of My Self by Jean Gill Meditation and self exploration through the Jungian imagery of the gospels.
Recent Discoveries and the Biblical World by Raymond Brown Helpful in knowing about the civilizations and places in which God’s people lived.
Storytelling: Imagination and Faith by William Bausch A book of stories and a book about storytelling.
A Tree Full of Angels by Macrina Weiderkehr Seeing the holy in the ordinary. “The solution to that restless ache (in the heart) is to learn the art of real Presence>”
When Life Hurts by Andrew Greeley Stories based on bible passages.
The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings by Bart Ehrman Explore the writings of the times of the New Testament that did not make it into the bible.
After the New Testament by Bart Ehrman A reader in early Christianity.
Seasons of Your Heart by Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S. B. Prayers and reflections.
Right Side Up! by Marlene Halpin, O.P. Reflections for those living with serious illness.
Jacob the Baker by Noah benShea Gentle wisdom for a complicated world.
The Enlightened Heart edited by Stephen Mitchell Poetry
Stories for the Journey by William White More stories.
Stories for Telling by William White More stories.
Stories for the Gathering by William White A treasury for storytellers.
Kneeling in Bethlehem Poetry surrounding Advent and Christmas
The Characters Within by Joy Clough Befriending your deepest emotions.
Images: Women in Transition by Janice Grana A powerful collection of poetry written by women.
Fables for God’s People by John Aurelio Also out of print. Check out Amazon’s service.
Colors: Stories of the Kingdom by John R. Aurelio A collection of stories to help open up the scriptures. Out of print, but Amazon’s out of print service might help you find it.
Contact With God by Anthony de Mello Retreat conferences.
Complaints Against God by Andrew Greeley
Greeley, with tongue in cheek, reflects on Gospel passages in ways that stimulate imagination.
The Hour of the Unexpected by John Shea Poetry. Out of print, but Amazon will attempt to fint for you in their out of print service.
The God Who Fell From Heaven by John Shea Poetry. Out of print, but Amazon will attempt to find it for you in their out of print service.
St. George and the Dragon by Edward Hays Twenty two parables woven within one parable.
Twelve and One-Half Keys by Edward Hays Parables stories for those on a mystic journey.
Pray All Ways by Edward Hays A fine assist to prayer.
The Ethiopian Tattoo Shop by Edward Hays Stories supposedly told by a tattoo artist to distract the client from the discomfort of the process of getting a tattoo. These parables have meanings for those on a spiritual quest.
The Gospel of Gabriel by Edward Hays The first Gospels were written to address the problems facing early post-Easter churches. Likewise, Gabriel’s Gospel is good news that speaks to the problems facing third millennium churches.
For the Life of the World by Alexander Schmemann If the challenge of today is seen as secularism, Schmemann sees the answer in a renewal of the sense of worship. Worship calls us to the awesomeness of creation and leads us naturally to the sense of wonder at what or who caused all this to be and holds it in being. He comes to this through his Eastern Orthodox appreciation of the sacraments, which he sees as a ritual expression of this wonder and awe. If secularism is the belief that our space and time holds the answers to all our needs and questions, than worship expresses the opposite. Thomas Merton called this work, “a powerful, articulate, and indeed, creative essay in sacramental theology”. It is all this, and more.
When Jesus Became God by Richard E. Rubenstein In the three hundred-year period after the Resurrection, it must have been terribly difficult to make sense of all the conflicting claims about Jesus in the very early churches. No agreed upon form of the Bible yet existed. Creeds were being hammered out amidst murder and mayhem even among the bishops, and the struggles for safety from hostile neighbors was ever present. Rubenstein’s very approachable book is a wealth of information about this creative and dangerous time. The sub-title says it succinctly: “The Epic Fight over Christ’s Divinity in the Last Days of Rome”. I think you will find this book very interesting.
Cosmology and Creation by Paul Brockelman Many have said we need a new story to bring together the scientific and spiritual understandings of life so that our young may live whole lives again. This book is one of the many that attempts to lay out the chapters of such a story. This new story needs to help us rediscover the spiritual insights and practices lying at the core of all the world’s religious traditions. It will help us connect our spiritual and scientific experiences in a way that opens the wonder of awe once again. This new story is not an enemy of the human spirit, but an expression of it.
The Holy Web by Cletus Wessels, O.P. Fr. Wessels’ book has been “rumbling around in me for many years”. He says that “I owe much to my many students and colleagues over the years. It is my hope that his work will repay all these people and excite many others”. I am sure that if you treat yourself to this book, you will not be disappointed. The subtitle, “Church and the New Universe Story”, gives you the thrust of this work. With contemporary science challenging us from many sides, most recently the human genome project, we need to have guides such as this book to help us begin to think through the many new questions and opportunities that seem to come daily anymore. More and more we realize that all that is, is in a “web of relationships”. Just how to live creatively in this web is the new story that is unfolding before our eyes.
The God of Evolution by Denis Edwards. The dialogue between science and religion is maturing. In this age of rapidly developing information, coming at us at such a pace as to cause vertigo for some, this book is a gift of clarity. Fr. Edwards, a priest of the Archdiocese of Adeliade, Australia, brings science and theology together. His insights on the Trinitarian understanding of God and the scientific understanding of evolution are a gift to all. This is a good book to engage you with the mysteries of the universe and the mystery of God.
Electromagnetism and the Sacred by Lawrence W. Fagg. This is wonderful time where physicists are finding their science helping to get a handle on what the mystics have been talking about. Dr. Fagg works at the frontier of Spirit and matter, using the electromagnetic interaction (EMI) as a powerful physical analogy for the ubiquity of God’s indwelling presence. Once you get through the first part of the book and the heavy science, the remainder will take your imagination into new avenues of thought.
Ethics for the New Millennium by Dalai Lama With so much energy devoted to concerns evoked by the year 2000, it is good to have a balanced and hope filled look at what the future can be. This world esteemed man of peace, has given us a work that clearly and simply identifies the issues and possible responses. People of good will and brave hearts will resonate to this work. Those with an agenda or special interest to push should approach this book with caution.
The Strange Woman by Gail Corrington Streete. Louisville, Ky. Westminster John Knox Press. 1977.
When we know how something came into being, and the part it played in the survival of those who wrote the bible, we can than use this insight to move into our new reality with greater survival skills. This book will help you to understand how power and sex became so influential in the formation of the bible. We then can be free to go into the future, standing on the shoulders of those who blazed the trails for us, grateful for what we have been given, and better able to give to those who come after us.
The Road Less Traveled & Beyond by M. Scott Peck. NY. Simon & Schuster. 1997.
As anxiety becomes more intense, it is an opportunity for spiritual growth. “Scotty” lets us in on his spiritual growth in this book. I recommend reading the last chapter first, as it will give you the fruit of this authors reflection on his growth experiences. For those who have read other books by Peck, this one will tie all the earlier books together. In times like ours today, where we feel disoriented by so many rapid changes, a book like this will encourage you to go with God’s process of bringing you into your maturing as well.
Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris. NY. Riverhead Books. 1998.
Words that have the potential to evoke strong responses, are subjects of short chapters that make for reflective reading. This is a good example of the practice of “holy reading” or lectio divina. You will find yourself meditating on your own power filled words for the revelation they hold. Norris helps by modeling this ancient process of probing her experiences for the graces they hold. Simply amazing.
Noah’s Flood by William Ryan and Walter Pitman, NY. Simon & Schuster, 1998.
In a remarkable joint effort, over a span of many years, scientists of numerous disciplines have pooled their information to bring forward what can be known about the ancient flood stories of the many cultures in antiquity. With the advent of undreamed of technology, and cooperation by peoples formerly separated by the cold war, this study of the great flood dated around 7,000 BCE is made possible. The book reads like a mystery story. It examines the data from ocean, sea, desert, mountains, cultures, and more. Here is an example of what can be accomplished when people are drawn together by a common quest that transcends barriers of time, place, culture, ideology or theology.
Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls by Hershel Shanks, Random House, NY. 1992.
Hershel Shanks who is the editor of The Biblical Archaeology Review and the Bible Review, has given us this overview of the dialogue on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He presents thirteen scholars and their considered evaluation of these documents. The book begins telling the story of how and where they were found. Then moves on to examine their relationship to Rabbinic Judaism, Christianity and the Bible in general. Finally, there is a look at the methods used to reconstruct the scrolls and their impact on the scholars themselves. If you want to enlarge your understanding of these important documents, this readable book will enable you to do just that.
Paul: A Critical Life by Jerome Murphy-O’Connor O.P., Oxford Univ. Press, NY. 1996.
Paul might have felt right as home with us as we struggle with the issue of impeachment. There were those who truly felt that he needed to be discredited and removed from his ministry, because of his teaching that allowed Gentiles to become Christians without becoming Jews first. This book will immerse you in the details of this struggle, and give you a deepened appreciation for Paul’s courageous struggle with those who put their trust in the law over their trust in God’s unconditional love. Paul realizes that once we put our trust in the law, we inevitably loose Jesus the Christ. This is not an easy read, but one worth the time and effort.
Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. Riverhead Books, Berkeley Pub. Co. NY. 1996.
Dr. Remen shares the fruit of her reflection on a life spent in helping people find meaning in their struggles to be whole. This is a book to keep handy for those times when you want to slow down and spend some time pondering deep truths. The stories told are usually two to three pages long, but you will find yourself leaning back after each one, needing to go within yourself to dialogue with the insights they evoke. This will also be a good book to have extra copies at hand, because you will find yourself saying: “I need to give? a copy of this book.
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, Doubleday, 1997.
I have been serving people in their process of living until they die for many years now, and this wonderful little book touches my heart. Morrie, a professor; Mitch a former student; come together in this powerful story of living fully until the end of a full life. We are let in on the process of this reconnection of lives in a way that gives an example of how rich such a risk can be for all concerned. Morrie taught with his life. He also taught with his death. This is a book to curl up with on a cold winter day, because it will warm your heart and soul through and through.
Gold in your Memories by Macrina Wiederkehr, Ave Maria Press in Notre Dame, IN. 1998, will be a deep mine for those who want to dig for the gold in their own memories. Macrina is someone who can put you in touch with the spiritual energy that resides within you to empower you to make new memories every day you live. She shares my belief that we are all a work in process and our lives are a tapestry of memories. On these precious fall days I invite you to taste one of her haiku poems: “A tiny gold leaf / offers a silent sermon / from a barren branch.”
In cycle A we work in the gospel of Matthew. The Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday, Cycle A by John Pilch is the first of three books that can really help you get the sense of the times of Jesus.. This often opens up deeper insights into what the text is saying. It is hard in our 21st Century Western culture, to understand many of the parables and teachings because of lack of knowledge of those times. These books will go a long way toward bridging this gap. 1995, Collegeville, MN. The Liturgical Press.
In cycle B we encounter the gospel of Mark. The Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday, Cycle B continues the task of helping to dig deeper into what is considered the first of the gospels that was put in written form. Once again, getting to know the times and concerns of the Middle East where Jesus lived and died, will help open up this gospel. 1996 Collegeville, MN. The Liturgical Press.
The Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday, Cycle C completes this trilogy of work that guides us through the three-year Lectionary cycle. This set of books will be a must for anyone preaching, teaching, doing regular personal bible reflection, or leading a discussion group based on the lectionary cycle. 1997 Collegeville, MN. The Liturgical Press.
Walter Wink is one of my favorite authors and his Engaging the Powers ranks as one of his best in my view. This award winning work is one I go back to often as I prepare my study guides. The index of gospel passages in the back of the book helps to go directly to the passage you are studying or meditating on at the moment. The subtitle; Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination, gives you insight into this thought provoking book. Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN published this book in 1992.