In the Land of the Living

"e;If required to summarize my deepest conviction in a single sentence, it would be something like this: I believe that God is more taken with the agony of the earth than with the ecstasy of heaven."e;So begins the preface to In the Land of the Living: Prayers Personal and Public by Kenneth L. Sehested. What follows from that conviction is a collection of prayers and poems, most of which are "e;inspired by"e; one or more particular biblical texts and many of which were originally written for use in Sehested's own congregation. Sehested's lifelong work as a justice and peace organizer informs his "e;poetic eloquence,"e; which, in the words of one reviewer, produces reflections on Scripture that create "e;a flash of insight, a bolt of courage, a stretch of imagination, a surprising peek into the heart of God"e; and "e;cries out against second-hand convictions."e;In the Land of the Living (Ps 27:13) represents a significant addition to that tradition of spirituality which takes seriously both the pain of the world and the claim of a God at work disarming both the heart and the nations. Indeed, "e;These prayers are jumper cables from the pew to the world."e;