In Mending the World: Spiritual Hope for Ourselves and Our Planet, Bruce G. Epperly, director of the Alliance for the Renewal of Ministry and associate professor of practical theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary, and Lewis D. Solomon, an ordained post-denominational rabbi who is Theodore Rinehard Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School, offered spiritual practices that could enrich and deepen faith in troubled times. They continue their demonstration of interfaith cooperation and mutuality with this inspiring paperback on a progressive Jewish-Christian vision of healing and wholeness.
In these traditions, each person carries a Divine spark and has been called to shed light in the world by being a healer. The authors note: "We matter to God and we matter to the universe. Jewish and Christian spirituality alike see our world as unfinished and full of possibility. Creation continues moment by moment. In the pulse of creation, God is always doing a new thing. But, God needs our companionship and sacred deeds (mitzvoth in Hebrew) to bring forth the fullness of Divine Beauty in our world. We are God's partners and cocreators in liberating the light from the darkness."
Epperly and Solomon discuss nine connections between spirituality, religious commitment, and overall health. They share healing Psalms, affirmations, and some prescriptions for wholeness that include cultivating a positive and hopeful attitude toward life and reframing your pain and suffering. Best of all is a delineation of the healing God of Judaism and Christianity who is defined primarily by love and compassion, who is intimately related to all things, who is constantly doing something new in people's lives and in the world, and who is involved in a dynamic relationship with us wherein we are called to mend the world.
