I told her I wanted God out there doing something, nodding to the street beyond the glass window. She was gorgeous to me, even exposed to the fluorescent light rattling around us, but she spoke like the incarnation of a Hallmark card, which both aggravated and saddened me. I was in my first year at the University of Pittsburgh and she, her last. “I was sitting in McDonald’s with my first Bible-study leader when I told her I didn’t want Jesus in my heart.
She did not grow up speaking Christianese or learning theology through well meant clichés, allowing her to see things that church kids don’t. I found Arthur Riley’s observations to be fresh, especially since she did not have a church upbringing. As a whole, these writings explore finding God in all things, both the everyday and the extraordinary, and preserving your own worth in a world designed to attack your dignity and joy. The book is set up as a series of essays on different topics: dignity, place, wonder, calling, body, belonging, fear, lament, rage, justice, repair, rest, joy, memory, and liberation. And, of course, we meet Cole Arthur Riley herself who is as shy and reserved as she is intelligent and wise beyond her years. Equally important is her father, a gentle and loving dad who taught her about dignity, but who is also a man with demons. We meet Arthur Riley’s gramma, who endured both a traumatic childhood and an abusive marriage, to become a strong woman who guided her grandchildren with wisdom.
This Here Flesh is her first book, and it’s a collection of spiritual reflections, which are entwined with family stories. If you are on Instagram, I strongly urge you to follow her at (She is also on Twitter and Facebook for anyone who doesn’t have Instagram.) I always find her words to be challenging, encouraging, and wise. Cole Arthur Riley is the founder of Black Liturgies.
0 kommentar(er)
