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book Reviews
A Human Jesus by Stephen Orchard. Pub
SPCK, pp128, ISBN 0281058814, £10.99
Keen followers of the Prayer Handbook need
little introduction to A Human Jesus, Stephen Orchard s anthology
of year round meditations and prayers. These appeared first in All
the Glorious Names (1989). It is a tribute to the author s writing
skills and ear for language that they continue to sound fresh and
contemporary.
The principal of Westminster College, Cambridge, who retires this summer
to become Moderator of General Assembly, has an historian s instinct for
comparisons and parallels across the centuries.
One reflection takes us from Isaiah s vision of the New Jerusalem,
supplied by droves of camels and hosts of ships, to consider the
worldwide haulage and transport systems of our day. Another piece moves
us from Matthew s account of Peter denying Jesus in the courtyard of the
high priest s house, to the everyday occasions when we distance
ourselves from him: Lord, remember me when I send you back to Galilee
and say that your friendship counts for nothing today.
The book is in three sections, with 12 prayers on Jesus, Son of Mary
for use before Easter and 20 each on the themes Christ, Son of God
and Son of Man to complete the annual cycle. Each contribution is
based on a reading, with the prayer printed in italics, sometimes
accompanied by a reflection or collect. This is material which,
unusually, works just as well in individual use or within public
worship.
Several of these prayers appeared in Bread of Tomorrow, Christian Aid s
1992 collection, and some phrases jumped off the page again. You can t
maintain a safe, sugary distance from the newborn Jesus when you pray:
We thought we had laid you safe in a manger, we wrapped you in the
thickest sentiment we could find.
The repeated phrase Lord, we were going to do something about ...' in
the prayer He has put all things under their feet reminds us of
the painful gap between our good intentions and actual achievements.
This combination of graciousness and firmness typifies Stephen Orchard s
writing and it is no surprise that a former Director of the Christian
Education Movement should offer material that helps us to grow.
KT
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