19 mercies

I've finally reached the end of Brennan Manning's Ragamuffin Gospel. Anne-Marie loaned it to me in February; I read a chunk of it in July; carried it with me hither and yon; but it wasn't until September that I gave it the final push. Lots of people have gushed about it online and I basically agree with them so I won't add to the hubbub -- except to highlight the "19 mercies" appended to more recent editions. Each of these is a short reading (1-2 pages), written to foster personal or group reflection, and concluding with a Bible passage or a fragment of poetry. The 19 headings nicely encapsulate the book's main themes:

• Come: Be here, now. Don't wait. Jesus wants to enter into a deep friendship with you. Cry out for the Spirit.
• Encounter: The person of Jesus. The call from the cross. Through Jesus we know Abba. The God who is love. God loves you unconditionally. We cry, "Abba!" The prayer of simple regard.
• Serve: The freedom of serving. Healing through meal sharing. Washing feet. Freedom from your own contempt. Christ in the person next to you.
• Trust: Trust in your Father's delight. Worry is an insult to your Father. The grace of reckless love.

I've begun walking back through these, one a day, to see what might happen.
OK, I wasn't really going to review the book; but here's an excerpt I scribbled down as I was reading:

(p. 203) The first step towards rejuvenation begins with accepting where you are and accepting your poverty, frailty, and emptiness to the love that is everything. Don't try to feel anything, think anything, or do anything. With all the good will in the world you cannot make anything happen. Don't force prayer. Simple relax in the presence of the God you half believe in and ask for a touch of folly.

Kinda hits the spot right about now... One final nugget: someone has posted Chapter 7 in its entirety. Entitled Paste jewelry and sawdust hotdogs, I found this to be the harshest (and maybe the best) chapter in the book: "... The temptation of the age is to look good without being good. If 'white lies' were criminal offenses, we would all be in jail by nightfall..."