Just Tell the Truth: A Call to Faith, Hope, and Courage by Richard Lischer

Abstract

Reviewed by: Just Tell the Truth: A Call to Faith, Hope, and Courage by Richard Lischer Mark Koschmann Just Tell the Truth: A Call to Faith, Hope, and Courage. By Richard Lischer. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2021. 210pp. This book is a collection of sermons, scripture meditations, and theological essays. In each chapter the author balances Law and Gospel, calling for “Christians of all parties and in all walks of life” [End Page 461] to discover again “what it really means to be a follower of the Way” (xi). As in his previous book, Open Secrets: A Memoir of Faith and Discovery (2002), Lischer uses a narrative approach to apply the life, teaching, and ministry of Jesus to contemporary concerns. The author gives a clear and passionate account of God’s story of salvation which culminates in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. While sociopolitical and ethical concerns appear, the key is to convey “what the book of Acts calls ‘the facts about Jesus’—who he is, what he did, what he demands, and the sort of people he empowers us to be” (xi). By interpreting scripture and applying it to the contemporary American social context, Lischer succeeds in giving a descriptive account of the callings Christians have today, in particular calling to speak about the radical grace God gives to the world. The book is organized around the liturgical seasons. In the first section the author uses the season of Lent to guide readers to reflect on the brokenness, sorrow, and disappointments of human life. In the second section Lischer explores a Christian ethos of hope with meditations on the liturgical seasons of Christmas and Pentecost, as well as reflections on the Psalms. As noted in his introduction, “COVID-19 created a universal field of suffering and anxiety to such an extent that it was impossible to think or write about anything else” (xi). These two sections take on deeper meaning, then, when viewed as a response to the suffering people have experienced during the pandemic. In the third section Lischer turns to Holy Week to expound on the victory that is found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The fourth section illustrates the ways that God calls people to live their faith in action through their vocations. The fifth section describes saints as God’s teachers who show how to forgive, reject power, tell the truth, be humble and serve others, and “teach us how to die” (164). The last section includes a series of writings on “Public Callings” urging Christians to live out their vocations for thoughtful and informed living. I assigned this book to undergraduate students in an intermediate theology course at Concordia University, St. Paul. The book connected well to themes of the course and the experiences of students in Minneapolis-St. Paul following the murder of George Floyd. His [End Page 462] death prompted courageous outcries for truth and justice. In one of the first sessions, while on a walking tour near campus, students came upon a scorched debris-ridden area. The experience breathed life into the text. “In Christ, even the chaos of ashes finds a form. We don’t receive the ashes on Ash Wednesday only; we bring them to the altar every day. The little box we carry is our own. Only in Jesus are they gathered into the shape of the cross” (6). This articulation of the theology of the cross offered hope to students in the face of tragic injustice. Lischer excels in his description of liturgy, especially to interpret God’s work in the world today. He emphasizes that the baptized are redeemed by Christ the crucified, writing that the baptismal promise “can never be taken away from you, but it does leave an indelible mark” (209). However, for those who are less familiar with the church’s liturgical life, these references may be lost, missed, or confused. Still, the liturgical and sacramental references provide opportunities for teaching about the promises of God in Jesus Christ. Overall, this book is a remarkable achievement for its engaging devotional approach, biblical insights, and clear application of the Christian Gospel. In one essay on Psalm 46 the author...