Abstract
Fleming Rutledge is an American Episcopal priest, one of the first women ordained priest in 1977. Means of Grace is a collection of reflections, based on sermons and previous writing, which walk through the church year from Advent to the Feast of Christ the King. Each reflection stands alone and draws on one of the lectionary readings for that Sunday. Together with reflections for certain midweek festivals, for example, Ash Wednesday and Holy Week, there are 60 reflections in total.
In her introduction, Rutledge explains her approach to preaching. It is an encounter with the living God, present and acting in the story of redemption. Preaching should not be about persuading, but should be expository and without telling people what to do. It is speaking the Word of God, interweaving Scripture and theological understanding. For Rutledge, we have faith in the one ‘who calls into existence the things that do not exist’ (Romans 4:17). The writing is firmly focused on the God living in the world, on the Christ who hung on the cross. There is no fuzzy God in these pages, instead Rutledge clearly names our estrangement from God (sin) and calls no punches over our need for grace and God’s mercy.
This book is not one to be read in one sitting – each reflection needs to be read slowly and carefully – allowing time to sink into our hearts. The language can be close knit and theological, but also offers insight by linking Scripture closely to contemporary events, such as school shootings, or the civil rights movement. Reading and re-reading one reflection each week would enable the reader to be formed by this encounter with the Word of God.
This is not a book for the casual reader, some fluency in theological sentences and ideas would help to dig into the richness of this text, but that is partly because Rutledge tackles deep theological, often Pauline, concepts. She draws out modern parallels to biblical stories (for example, her discussion of the ‘but’ in Naaman’s life – he was a mighty commander, but ....) as well as placing texts in their immediate contexts and in the context of the wider history of the people of Israel. The breadth of her illustrations is astounding.
The book is greatly enhanced by the structure of the church year, each reflection ends with the relevant collect for the week from the Book of Common Prayer, and as you walk through the year, taking time, you will find yourself plunging the depths of our estrangement from God and the heights of God’s mercy and grace through the cross. Rutledge’s frequent refrain of the God ‘who calls into existence the things that do not exist’, leads to her confidence that God calls out faith when it struggles in our lives ‘my God, I believe, help my belief’. This is a book for spiritual formation and deep reflection which has the potential to enable the Word of God to touch our hearts.