Flashes of Grace
33 Encounters with God
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- $33.99
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- $33.99
Publisher Description
“I don’t know how to say what the grace of God is. What I can say is what it’s like for me.”
We all know about grace being amazing—after all, there’s a whole song about it—but Patrick Henry reminds us that that’s not all it is. It’s also intimidating, disorienting, demanding, reassuring, and sometimes even just downright mind-boggling. Describing thirty-three different aspects of grace based on his everyday experiences, Henry tells the story of a grace that is wide-ranging and comprehensive—if not always comprehensible. Rather than trying to capture and tame his encounters with God, he lets the mystery of memory speak for itself, exemplifying his mantra that being a Christian is about being “an explorer, not a colonizer.”
Flashes of Grace is wise and grounded, earnest and light, faithful and quirky. Henry describes encountering grace in airports, baseball, hazelnuts, and just about anywhere else you can imagine, while engaging with dialogue partners ranging from King Saul and Saint Augustine to Yogi Berra and Captain Picard. For anyone longing to connect (or reconnect) with God, this book provides a surprising journey that broadens perspectives and explores strange new worlds, while loosening stiff spiritual joints so movement can be free and spontaneous.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Henry, retired director of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, debuts with a series of joyful essays detailing God's presence in his life and in the world. The entries meander through Henry's memories and feelings about God, tied together only by his energy and optimism: "Humility and reflection and flexibility keep me free and nimble, alert to both the challenge and the reassurance of God's grace." Some essays strike a humorous tone (such as his skewering of the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins: "If what they say of God is true, my conscience tells me that hell is better than heaven"), while others are more reverent (as with his description of dancing in the church aisles after a gathering of disparate faith traditions). Among the highlights are Henry finding inspiration in John Stuart Mill's thoughts on disagreeing with one's father and Yoggi Berra's dictum to keep moving forward. Any Christian will find inspiration in this glowing testament to living a God-infused life.