A
Passage Through Sacred History: Lenten Reflections for Individuals and Groups
Author:
Don C. Skinner
Publisher:
Cleveland,
Ohio: United Church Press
96 pages, ISBN: 0-8298-1216-4
Reviewed by Rev. Garth
Wehrfritz-Hanson
Don C. Skinner, at the time of
writing this little volume, was a retired United Church of Christ minister
living in Forest Grove, Oregon.
The volume contains a brief Introduction and
seven chapters. Rev. Skinner suggests that the book be read, studied, and
discussed one chapter at a time to coincide with the seven weeks of Lent.
The format is as follows: i) A quotation at
the beginning of each chapter, from various sources, attempting to compliment
the theme of each chapter. ii) The chapter’s content material, based on one or
more passages from the Bible. iii) Questions for discussion, which may also
lead to further study and research.
In chapter one, the author focuses on the
story of God’s promise made to Abraham and Sarah, and the Hebrew concept of hesed, “radical faithfulness” (p. 7) as
a description of God’s character—meaning that God can be trusted to carry out
and honour his promise.
Chapter two looks at God’s covenant with
Moses and the Israelites, and emphasizes that a covenant is more like a
marriage than a contract.
In chapter three Rev. Skinner points out one
of the oldest theological conundrums for Israel’s prophets—the dialectic of
right worship and right action, ritual and social justice, and the tension
these often create.
Chapter four makes the case for the
Jewishness of Jesus, the gospel accounts of his compassion for his own people
in his public ministry, and a needed emphasis that there is no place for
anti-Semitism among Christians.
In chapter five the author draws some
parallels between the Passover and the Last/Lord’s Supper.
Chapter six focuses on the Christian
celebration of Pentecost, which is rooted in the Jewish Feast of Weeks. God
offers his grace to Israel in the gift of the law. God offers his grace to
Christians in the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In the final chapter, the author tells a
couple of contemporary stories, highlighting unity and diversity, and acts of
kindness and mercy in the church.
This volume has the potential to be a
helpful and edificatory resource for the season of Lent.
No comments:
Post a Comment