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Calling out into the Mess



To Light a Fire on the Earthy: Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age by Robert L. Barron with John L. Allen Jr.

Knowing John L. Allen Jr. from previous reporting on the Catholic tradition, I am immediately excited about this book engaging Father Robert L Barron.  Somewhat of an internet sensation on YouTube and through the production of a series of videos on Catholicism, Father Barron has gotten a wide audience of viewers and readers in a way unseen since the time of Fulton J. Sheen.  The subtitle of the book was also appealing since it is the gospel that I believe that is central to the whole edifice of Christianity, both in belief and in practice. 

Part of the unique voice coming from Father Barron is related to his being raise in the post conciliar time where experimentation and feeling were part and parcel of the Catholic experience.  Yet, this kind of deep emotional weight left a kind of fully orbed understanding of the behind. After hearing much about social justice, Barron was still left with a sense that there is more to it than that.  Barron writes, “What I reacted against without knowing it at that time, was the reductionism.”  This kind of reaction would lead Barron to also reject many parts of liberalism for a kind of robust theology that would follow in the footsteps of Balthasar rather than Rahner. 

Being firmly immersed in the biblical narrative and the main points of Christian faith, Father Barron gets at the heart of the message of the NT when talking about truth with a capital T.  He writes, “…but the New testament is really about a lot of people who want to grab the whole world by the shoulders and shake them saying, “Do you realize that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead?”  Therefore, he’s the Lord, and therefore, your whole life has to be situated around him.” (99)  Many scholars and teachers of the church have situated NT theology as girded in human experience or trying to make sense of God’s plan for the world without stepping squarely into the good news which has its center in Jesus Christ.  Barron brings to the foreground the Son of God and reckoning our whole existence upon his kingship.  One can see strong tones of the work of N.T. Wright here in his work and even the Reformed tradition’s emphasis of Prophet, Priest, and King

Barron’s deep emphasis on beauty, goodness, and truth gives both Christian and seeker a firm grasp on the way the world is made good by God and its purposes in relationship to human flourishing. From cathedrals to the swing of Rory McIlroy, Barron sees beauty.  In the face of goodness, there is a litany of saints who have dug trenches of mercy for the sake of others, from Mother Teresa to Ignatius.  And finally, Barron sees Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the fullness of God dwelling bodily and offering to humanity much more than the social sciences can hold out to individuals.  There is a truth that no material view of the universe can answer when it comes to meaning and purpose, all the things the Church points to in Jesus.

What a beautiful work, John L. Allen Jr. never fails in getting the best interviews and reporting on them with vigor and beauty.  Whether you are Catholic or not, this book will be a great encouragement to you.


Thanks to Blogging for Books for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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