Preparatory Meditations
This series of short essays explores major concepts in Christian theology and formation through an engagement with contemporary American literature.
In the poetry of Li-Young Lee, Cathy Smith Bowers, Tracy K. Smith, and Christian Wiman, and the prose fiction of James Baldwin, Marilynne Robinson, Phil Klay, and Kali Fajardo-Anstine, we find powerful representations of the characteristics of Christian life described in the New Testament verse Galatians 5:22—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
In monthly posts beginning in the fall of 2025, I’ll explore the work of these writers and each of these concepts in turn. I’ll conclude the project with a reflection in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July of 2026. In that closing essay, I’ll consider how the defining attributes of a life of Christian faith, alongside classical virtues such as courage, wisdom, and justice, can give us all a foundation to more fully and meaningfully participate in the civic life of our nation.