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Face your demons, and turn to prayer
The excitement ofthese reflections is catching, declares Martin Warner
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| The Contagion of Jesus: Doing theology as if it mattered Sebastian Moore
Darton, Longman & Todd £14.95 (978-0-232-52717-9) Church Times Bookshop £13.45 CONTAGION is an interesting and unusual word to use in the context of doing theology, but it is appropriate for this book. The cover illustration is a well-known contemporary painting of Jesus washing the feet of Peter — a moment of contagion. There is a similar feeling of intimacy about the retreat addresses, sermons, and articles that have been collected under this title. Sebastian Moore is a Benedictine monk at Downside. The material presented here is drawn from the past ten years or so. It documents a lifetime’s reflection on the topic of confronting one’s demons and weaknesses, of accepting the imperfections of one’s bodily self, and abandoning oneself to the unknown in “what can only be called prayer”. The collection of Moore’s papers into a book came about through Stephen McCarthy, a family friend. McCarthy has selected the material, introduces it, and has arranged the chapters into two parts. Part One covers questions about the nature of God and the sacramental life; Part Two ranges over issues of moral theology and discipleship. In both parts of this collection we read material determined by issues that painfully confront the Church today. Authority, gender, and sexuality pretty much drive Moore’s teaching, and he brings the whole spectrum of Christian belief into contact with these basic aspects of human experience. Moore is energetically critical of the Roman Catholic Church, but, equally, he remains uncomprom-isingly committed to it, as his reflections on the situation in the Anglican Communion indicate in the chapter entitled “Love, Sexuality and the Church”. There is no doubt that Moore has a gift for friendship which encourages people to come alive in their encounter with God revealed in Jesus Christ. At times I thought that the experience of having met Moore would have helped, in that the material might read more naturally. I also had nagging questions about repetition, and whether the brevity of the papers sustained the exploration of the subject-matter of the chapter headings. But these are quibbles. Before reading the book myself, I had recommended it to someone who had asked for a book of theology for the ordinary person. Her verdict on this one was succinct: “Exciting!” Canon Warner is Canon Pastor of St Paul’s Cathedral. To order this book, email the details to Church Times Bookshop |
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