A short while ago I finished reading Nadia Bolz-Weber’s second book, ‘Accidental Saints’.
Her first book Pastrix: The Cranky Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint burst on to the scene at the end of 2013 and was found by many to be an absolutely refreshing read. Heavily tattooed and known for having a bit of a sailor’s mouth, Nadia, who is a former standup comic, details some of her journey towards pastoring many seen as the misfits of society – fellow alcoholics, depressives and cynics. Deeply flawed but deeply faithful, Bolz-Weber attracts the attention of many who are done with religion, but really find themselves attracted to this Jesus guy.
All the wrong places
In her second book, Nadia dishes up more of the same, largely through stories told in a confessional style of her encounters with grace. A grace that is described in the book cover as ‘a gift that often feels less like being wrapped in a warm blanket and more like being hit by a blunt instrument.’
What I enjoy about Nadia’s stories are that they are often so reminiscent of the stories of Jesus who was often accused of hanging out in the wrong places with the wrong kinds of people and sharing deeply spiritual moments with those He came across.
In this passage where Nadia has an encounter with a Bishop who has recently lost his wife to cancer, Nadia is reflecting on her visit on the drive home:
After meeting Bruce and struggling with what it means to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world when I am so prone to pride, I looked harder at Matthew 25 and realised that if Jesus said “I was hungry and you fed me,” then Christ’s presence is not embodied in those who feed the hungry (as important as that work is), but Christ’s presence is in the hungry being fed.
Christ comes not in the form of those who visit the imprisoned but in the imprisoned being cared for. And to be clear, Christ does not come to us as the poor and hungry.
Because, as anyone for whom the poor are not an abstraction but actual flesh-and-blood people knows, the poor and hungry and imprisoned are not a romantic class of Christlike people. And those who meet their needs are not a romantic special class of Christlike people. We all are equally as sinful and saintly as the other. No, Christ comes to us in the needs of the poor and hungry, needs that are met by another so that the gleaming redemption of God might be known.
No one gets to play Jesus. But we do get to experience Jesus in that holy place where we meet others’ needs and have our own needs met. We are all needy and the ones who meet needs. To place ourselves or anyone else in only one category is to lie to ourselves.
Jesus for the workers
Nadia Bolz-Weber doesn’t preach to people through her books. She tells stories that themselves beckon people closer. If this Jesus can love those people doing those things in that way, maybe there is something in it for me.
Which is why I think that ‘Accidental Saints’ is a rare Christian book that would appeal to those who are outside of the faith as well. If you have ever felt like you are not good enough for God, reading about some of the accidental saints that Nadia encounters, might just give you something to think about.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an open mind and is up for some inspiration and hope fueled by some deeply resonating stories.