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Blue frequently takes the position of providing new angles on certain gospel passages that liberal Christians might find unsavory, and at times it seems like she tries too hard. Her sermon on the parable of the ten bridesmaids interprets the bridesmaids' lamp oil as God's grace and the resulting light as "living a life full of deeds of love and mercy." As an aside—almost flippantly—she notes that the parable's conclusion (in which the bridegroom refuses to allow the unprepared bridesmaids to enter the wedding feast) is "not a treatise on hell." The parable is of course often seen as exactly that, and it's unfortunate that Blue chooses not to support her statement or explore this controversial issue further.
Similarly, the sermon "A Potentially Gruesome Metaphor" unpacks the phrase (and children's song) "fishers of men." Blue details the image's darker connotations and artfully connects it to the darkness inherent in Simon Peter's experience on the fishing boat. Her belief that this dark metaphor is "pretty clearly" not intended to be "extracted as a model for discipleship"—because in general Luke emphasizes Christ's mission of releasing, not catching—is less convincing.
The tone of this book captionernates frequently between quietly reflective and low-brow comedic. Combine this with Blue's explicit Christian faith, and comparisons to Anne Lamott are almost inevitable. But, while one can hardly pinpoint in Lamott just where poignant stops and funny starts, Blue's reader will rarely fail to hear the switch being thrown; sometimes her writing is just too cute. Her humor occassionally approaches gimmickry, as in the pun that serves as the title to the sermon "Res[E]rection" but is only loosely connected to the sermon itself. Clearly, Blue is a gifted student and interpreter of Scripture; just as clearly, she's not the kind of person who wants to write a dry, theologically dense book. But the actual message of this book would come across better if its irreverent, informal passages were just a bit less so.
Still, she fleshes out her fascinating thesis with great insight and passion. Blue understands that true engagement with the gospel requires one to "grab it by the neck, yank it around, roll with it in the dirt." To her, the story of God's love for humanity is full of concrete sensuality, and she believes that "if I hear the word of God in the struggle it will be the word of a lover."
Steve Thorngate is an ELCA church musician in Chicago.
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