Flashes of Grace: 33 Encounters with God

“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. Table of Contents Foreword by Joan Chittister Prologue: Off the Plane, into the Airport Part One: How I Became the Source of This Story 1. Grace in Formation 2. Grace in Perspective 3. Grace in Balance Part Two: Reorienting 4. Grace in Dimensions 5. Grace in Surprise 6. Grace in Politics Part Three: The Bible 7. Grace in “Whatever” 8. Grace in Opening Up and Broadening Out 9. Grace in Verb Tenses 10. Grace in Being Left Behind with The Da Vinci Code Part Four: History 11. Grace in Uncertainty 12. Grace in the Digging 13. Grace in a Future That Ain’t What It Used to Be Part Five: Coming Together after Coming Apart 14. Grace in Ecumenism 15. Grace in the “Cannot" 16. Grace in Reconciling Memories Part Six: Diversity 17. Grace in Variety 18. Grace in a Fugue 19. Grace in Finding an Old Sermon 20. Grace in Christian Autobiography Part Seven: Imaginations: Religious and Scientific 21. Grace in Science 22. Grace in a Hazelnut 23. Grace on Darwin’s Grave 24. Grace in Scientific American Part Eight: Disturbances of Dogma 25. Grace in Coventry Cathedral and on the Hudson River 26. Grace in Art 27. Grace on a Baseball Diamond 28. Grace Where I Don’t Expect It 29. Grace On Board the Starship Enterprise Part Nine: A Spirituality for the Long Haul 30. Grace in the Overlap of “Spiritual” and “Religious” 31. Grace in a Culture of Trust, Not Fear 32. Grace in an Ancient Prayer 33. Grace in the Groundswell’s Bell over the Ebbing Sea’s Roar Epilogue: Letter to Captain Picard Notes

Patrick Henry was professor of religion at Swarthmore College from 1967 to 1984 and executive director of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research from 1984 to 2004. In retirement he is a monthly columnist for the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota, where he writes about the renewal of human community. His other books include The Ironic Christian's Companion: Finding the Marks of God's Grace in the World.

 

Joan Chittister is executive director of Benetvision: A Resource and Research Center for Contemporary Spirituality, Erie, Pennsylvania. She is also a contributor to The Huffington Post blog. Her many books include God's Tender Mercy, The Story of Ruth (with John August Swanson), and Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope. For more information, visit her website at www.joanchittister.org.