Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus

Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus, Nancy Guthrie (Crossway, 2020)

After hearing Nancy Guthrie give an excellent seminar recently, I grabbed a few more of her books. I have always enjoyed her writing, and have reviewed some books before (on grief, on praying for your children, and on biblical theology). Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus is another one in the biblical theology realm.

Each chapter considers someone in the biblical accounts who interacted with Jesus - both those who came to love him and serve him, and those who turned away from him. From there, Guthrie encourages the reader to think how they too might react to Jesus and respond to his call on their life.

Every chapter is like a sermon, and as such was engaging, easy to read, and very applicable. At the same time, it was biblically saturated and drew links from the Old Testament through to Jesus, providing connections that might otherwise have been missed.

Some of the ‘saints’ and ’scoundrels’ are: John the Baptist, Jesus’ family, Peter, the Pharisees, Zaccheus, Judas, Stephen, and Paul. Each brought out a different aspect of following Jesus and what it means today. While I learned from them all, some stood out: 

1. Jesus family. Exploring his family line, his parents and his siblings, Guthrie posits that the family of Jesus is made of people from less respectable backgrounds, who have a less than complete understanding of who he is, and whose belief in Jesus is better later than never. It’s a comforting encouragement to those who think they could never measure up and an assurance that they don’t have to. 
2. Peter. This was a more balanced and nuanced take on Peter than we sometimes get. She compared Peter in the gospels with Peter in the letters, to show how God works change in people’s lives. 
3. The Pharisees and Nicodemus. This contained helpful cultural explanations and powerful observations. Have you ever stopped to think what it meant physically and emotionally for Nicodemus (and Joseph) to take Jesus’ body off the cross and to the tomb? 

The real strength of this book is the way Guthrie applies biblical theology to each story, giving it more meaning, deeper context, and more appropriate application. What’s interesting is the wide range of people this book is suitable for. It would introduce new believers or inquirers to Jesus and how he changes lives. It would help established Christians to see links across the biblical accounts that they might have missed. It brings fullness to the story of Jesus and our understanding of him. I learnt a lot and appreciated how Guthrie drew threads together that I had not previously seen. Highly recommended.

Home Work

Home Work: Essays on love and housekeeping, Helen Hayward (Puncher and Wattman, 2023) 

Home Work by Helen Hayward was a highlight of my recent reading. It is a gentle stroll through the unfolding years of her life, as she ponders what it means to care about her home, her household, and how it runs.

She outlines her early adult years, leaving Adelaide for London, and establishing a career. She struggled with the tension of enjoying a well-kept, inviting home with the reality and business of work and commitments: 

“And even while my thoughts were focused on my career, in my heart – a place I didn't often go – I never doubted that there was an art to running a home and that it was a worthwhile thing to do.”

Upon marriage and the subsequent arrival of children, the question of maintaining the home became front and centre: 

“From day one of motherhood, the emotional, imaginative and physical work of looking after my baby and home felt demanding. I felt I had no choice but to stay on top of household tasks…Cooking, organising, errands, shopping and cleaning became urgent. My life may not have depended on them but my sanity and well-being did.”

The family returned to Australia settling first in Melbourne and then in Tasmania. As Hayward’s mother got older and began questioning whether her life (spent at home with a focus on child-raising and volunteering) had value, Hayward was asking her own similar questions: 

“Was it possible to find meaning and satisfaction in housekeeping? And did this have something important to teach us about life itself? Eventually these questions snowballed into one giant question. Was our home work essential to living a good life or did it take away from it?”

What I really appreciated about this book was its tone. Hayward tells her story gently and honestly. She  doesn’t force her choices on you. She just shares her thinking, and perhaps others will find something in it for them.

She isn’t starry-eyed about the realities of managing a home: 

“Daydreaming about what family life might be like was easy in my early 30s. Housekeeping for the family that I went onto to have, as the years galloped by, was more challenging and time-consuming than I'd ever imagined.”

“What I do know, and do have words for, it's just how much love and effort it requires to keep up a warm and attractive home, especially with a family at the middle of it.”

Yet, there was a recognition of what was learnt in the process: 

“Being a mother of small children forced me into a self-reliance I had not known I was capable of.”

“What I didn't understand back then, what I couldn't fathom in my pigheaded adolescence, was the extent to which loving someone is to look after them. Aged sixteen I refuse to accept, it was incomprehensible to me, that loving someone is inseparable from caring for them practically, emotionally, and soulfully.”

She concludes that the reason that you maintain a home is mainly to love the people in it. 

“It's a daily expression of my willingness to do things that I don't really care about, for the sake of something bigger that I really do care about. For me, these big things are love and beauty. The kind of love that I've stumbled on goes beyond family, to everyone I care about. It extends to everyone I know who is in the throes of doing this difficult thing called life.”

Much of what Hayward shares echoes my own thinking in this area. I suspect she is only 5-10 years older than me and her story has many similarities. I have also chosen to be the primary person at home, managing the household for 25 years. This doesn’t mean there isn’t another focus elsewhere - Hayward was in paid employment for many years, and I have given much time to unpaid ministry. While I might be initially be tempted not to think of myself as very “homemakery”, when I think back over the years, I realise I have taught myself how to do basic home maintenance, clean gutters, change doorknobs, make bread, cook, paint a room, make jam, sew curtains, and so on. The things that keep a house going.

Like many, I have found there is both a tediousness to the never-ending cycle of cleaning, washing and cooking. Yet, there is also a sense of satisfaction in maintaining a welcoming home, where everyone is fed and clean, and where things work. And even more so - when others are served and loved by your actions.

This is what I appreciated about this book. It made me recall and reflect again on why I have chosen the path I have.