This post was originally published by Tom Eggebeen on his TakeFive blog here.
I had a hard time making it through this book!
I kept stoping, every few paragraphs … to underline, to make a note, just to think, to wonder, and then to read the footnotes, and jump to my computer, to check out the websites and sources sited.
From the moment I started, the book grabbed my attention. It was clear - I was reading the work of a determined and devoted minister, one who takes seriously the essential elements of the Christian life: the Scriptures and the church’s story … theology and history … people and their times, their trials, and triumphs … and the words with which we’re blessed, and the words with which we’re burdened … the words spread before us, inviting us to choose wisely, to assembly phrases carefully, because of the Incarnate Word of God.
In other words, words count - because of their power - the power to call forth light or to bring down damnation, to heal a broken soul, a broken body, or send the hungry away with a dismissive word of judgment and “othering.”
George Mason is a preacher of great skill, lifting up the central concepts of the Christian Faith, for the people who strive to live this faith every day of their lives: the saints and the sinners (mostly one and the same), with hopes and dreams common to all, and faults and failings, all too common.
Dr. Mason is a sculptor - with hammer and chisel, taking the marble of words and shaping them with care … here’s a man who’s worked very hard at language … bringing out its delight with word play and creativity.
Keep reading here.
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