John Farley died in the spring of 2006 after collecting together these thirteen sermons for publication for which Colin Morris has written an appreciative foreword. ISBN 1-899147-58-6
Books of sermons are an unknown quantity. I approached this volume with some trepidation as I knew nothing of the author and the blurb on the back only told me where he had served as a Methodist minister. Anyway Colin Morris, a preacher whom I respect, thinks highly of him so I decided to plunge in.
It was a refreshing experience. They are clearly written. They are full of learning and wide cultural references but are not dated even though some were originally preached as long ago as the 1960s. I enjoyed all of them but of three I will make special mention. The sermon for Good Friday is one of the clearest arguments for Abelard's theory of the atonement that I have read for a long while. A short quote - “ The real non believer in the resurrection is not the man who has his reservations about the Empty Tomb and the Turin Shroud, but the man who has his doubts about the invincible love and forgiveness of God.”
The sermon on Jonah deals well with the subject of being exclusive. “Jonah remains as a standing challenge to all those people and nations today, who petulantly object to the loss of their own creature comforts, while rather welcoming the thought that death and damnation are about to overtake the whole city load of foreigners who are, after all, their own fellow human beings.”
Tsedeqh - the first sermon in the book was the last sermon to be preached by Farley before his death in 2006. This is a careful exploration of the meanings of justice, righteousness and forgiveness in our complex world.
I highly recommend this book .
