The Trinity // St. Augustine (trans. by Edmund Hill).

One of the most brilliant minds of the Christian tradition (and beyond!), St. Augustine plunges into the most captivating, yet also the most incomprehensible pillar of the Christian faith–the Triunity of God. Arguably Augustine’s most taxing and enigmatical work, The Trinity is a rite of passage for all students and learners of Trinitarian theology (and beyond!). Inflexible in his meticulous bend, Augustine exacts demanding intellectual and spiritual prowess to delve deep into the most wondrous mystery: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. How can this be? Why is this be? Searching for an appropriate explanation of the Trinity, Augustine, in the end, falls into humble surrender: “What is the reason then that you cannot fix your gaze on it to see it, but weakness obviously; and what brought this weakness on you but wickedness obviously? Who then is to heal all your infirmities but he who is gracious to all your iniquities?” (15.27.50). In daring hope, we will see God face to face (1 Cor 13:12), but until then we wait in faith in the Triune God to purify us in grace and love. Amen.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince // J.K. Rowling.

With the Voldemort menace at its peak in 16 long years, Harry Potter, “the Chosen One,” slowly assumes his linchpin role as Voldemort’s match with private lessons with Headmaster Dumbledore. Initially ecstatic with the possibility of conjuring complex and secret magic arts, Harry instead wades through dark and murky memories of Voldemort’s greatest strengths and weaknesses. After each pensieve trip, the task at hand gets heavier and grimmer: power and technique alone are not enough, a good bit of courage is required.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix // J.K. Rowling.

Defamation, isolation, and loss are just a few things 15-year-old Harry Potter experienced during this most difficult year at Hogwarts. Shrouded by confusion and angst, the bulk of the battle resides in Harry’s interior self–it also doesn’t help that he frequents powerful emotive surges from the risen Dark Lord. In the fifth installment, “the tables have turned”–this is no longer about “a foal’s” exciting journey through the magical school of wizardry and witchcraft. No, the sun has set and dusk has risen with its nefarious draft–this is about the grim future for the magical world of wizardry and witchcraft.

The Normal Christian Life // Watchman Nee.

This short devotional draws its life from the first eight chapters of the Epistle to the Romans. The cross has severe theological and spiritual implications that most Christians are not aware of, therefore revelation is absolutely primary. What follows revelation is reckoning, or remembering, the blood and cross of Christ: the former deals with sins, the latter with sinners. After remembering, the normal Christian life requires walking in the Spirit, which is actually relying on the Spirit. Finally, bearing the cross, which is the will of God for all Christians. In the mix between each step, Nee has minor tangents that paints the context for the forthcoming step. Watchman Nee, most known for his indigenous church movement in China, was arrested by the government in 1952 until his death in prison in 1972.

The City of God (I-X) // Augustine (trans. by William Babcock).

Treasured and venerated for over 1500 years, this most ambitious work of this theological giant culminates all his mature musings into a tome of a zealous outcry for the “most glorious” city–the City of God. This first unequal half further splits into two provocative harangues: (1) Primarily against Greco-Roman culture and (2) primarily against Greco-Roman philosophies, specifically Neo/Platonism. Exposing its savage lust for glory, Rome haughtily self-ordinates the authority “to spare the conquered and subdue the proud,” which exclusively belongs to the One True God. After aptly handling the Greco-Roman world, Augustine clangs the bell and brazenly pleas to sacrifice to the one true God: not because God requires animal slaughter, but rather outer sacrifice signifies the inner sacrifice of the humble heart. Humans desire to be happy (fulfilled), but only God can provide, therefore sacrifices help us to love him appropriately.

Herman Bavinck on the Christian Life // John Bolt.

A marvelous scholar and benevolent pastor, Herman Bavinck towers as a faithful theologian in the midst of the intellectual furnace of 19th century Europe. His undying dedication to the Church was staked by his constant turndowns of alluring university offers. However, being an academic through and through, Bavinck brought the university’s fervor to the Church in his faithful service as a pastor-professor. The book is split into three unequal parts: (1) Quick sketch of the man himself, (2) Bavinck’s foundation for Christian conduct, and (3) Specific contexts for appropriate Christian conduct. The last chapter, Civil Society, could irritatingly shake any moderately conscious social justice personae, however, as a meticulous reader of Calvin, Bavinck is thoroughly saturated with compassionate for the marginalized. Personally, I would not say what Bavinck says about society, but the principle Christian ethics interposes with mine beautifully.

Resurrection Day 2016.

“Thank you, Lord.”

Those are the words from my mother’s lips as we clasp our hands together to bless the food he has given–all purée because solids are an impossibility at this point. She whispers, almost as if it was a private conversation between two lovers that I unintentionally eavesdropped on. I ask her if she wants a little bit of salt and pepper, she nods. I tear two packets–one salt and one pepper–lightly tapping the edge for an even coat, then vigorously mixing it with a spoon. I scoop, I prep, and I serve my mother her dinner. This is sacred, because Jesus is here–Jesus is in her.

Three years ago, the gravity of Christ’s resurrection had a tremendous reconfiguration: the promise of new life and new body became good good news. While some pride in the abstraction of the concrete, I was refreshed with the reconcretization of the concrete–the hope of the resurrection became tastable. No longer does the empty tomb mean a baseless message stuck on dull repeat, but a satisfying and fulfilling hope. The deterioration of the body and the mind is a heart-wrenching sight: inevitable and ubiquitous as it is, a deep lament from the bones of loved ones bemoans, “this is not right…this is not supposed to be.” And praise God that the story does not end with the cross, but victoriously charges into the resurrection: death is swallowed up by life; mortality is consumed by immortality.

Theological enterprise can sketch the fine contours of resurrection, but only gratitude can set back, gaze, and worship the Resurrected Lord. And, I believe, my mother lives this out.

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality // Peter Scazzero.

A timely and much needed book! As an emotional person, I grew up afraid to dabble in the tumultuous seas of my emotions: in short, I was afraid to unveil and see myself for who I really am with all the messiness and filth. Scazzero, with apt grace, invites his readers to take that ‘leap of faith’ into the seas and see that ‘the master of storms’ has been there all along. Theologically sound and Biblically rooted, his pastoral plea for a radical twist in our perspective of the relationship between emotions and spirituality in nothing short of refreshing, revitalizing, and reorienting.

The Prodigal God // Timothy Keller.

Pastor Tim Keller revitalizes this well-worn parable of the Lost Son(s) by refashioning the perplexities of sin, the illusions of lostness, and the abiding goodness of hope. The good news is truly good solely because of this extravagant spender, uninhibited exhauster, and gracious lover: the Prodigal God. He pursues us, he welcomes us, he unabashedly lavishes us, and he celebrates us. This gratuitous grace is gifted by an extortionate price: the True Elder Brother–Jesus, our God-Man.

In comparison to Henri Nouwen’s “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” Keller is much more theocentric, whereas Nouwen is much more anthropocentric. Despite this, Nouwen felt mystic and emotive: the gravity of the estrangement of lostness governed.

Ender’s Shadow // Orson Scott Card.

How does Card do what he does? This enthralling novel reiterates the rise of Ender Wiggins from a perplexing parallel perspective: Bean. This shockingly miniature figure possesses an inhuman mind with an incomprehensible deduction–one that can put Sherlock Holmes to shame. And at the end of the book, the question stands: Who was the true hero and mastermind? Was it Ender or Bean? Or was it Bean through Ender? Perhaps it was Bean supporting Ender? And yet again it could be Bean allowing Ender? Despite the intentional blur that might inculcate childish teams (Team Ender and Team Bean), what’s lucid is what team Bean wanted to be in: Team Ender. And that’s telling.