The Radiant Word brings together sermons, meditation, and lived experience, and reanimates Scripture, icons, and saints to reveal a theology that is not abstract but embodied, inviting readers to encounter divine beauty in the ordinary textures of life. Why was this an important book for you to write?

I find myself restless every day at the study-desk to communicate the ravishing healing beauty of Christ’s teaching to anyone hungry for the comfort and assurance of experiencing true faith in our challenging world. This book has helped me focus on the salvific message shining through each Sunday’s Gospel lesson. 

What does it mean, to you, for theology to be “inhabited” rather than explained?

Even the word “theology” can become distant and off-putting; whereas I experience the Word of God as electrifying life and personal action. By dwelling on the ancient teachings, Jesus walks beside me, lighting the darkness of my doubts, and leading me forward with encouragement in navigating the decisions of daily life. 

You suggest that modern Christianity has “thinned out” certain ways of seeing. What do you think has been lost?

Ministering at the hospital bed, I so often find that spiritual memories from grandparents are a fulsome treasury of experienced faith which has been lost for this busy, distracted generation, but is waiting to be enlivened again, from beloved hymn lyrics and Psalm-verses, and family anecdotes shared, and from reliving again the teaching of Jesus Christ experienced in close-reading of Scripture.

What do you hope readers discover when they encounter Scripture through your lens?

The startlingly encouraging vision of the resurrected Christ radiantly coming alive in every reader’s heart, electrifying them with love.