Christians and non-Christians alike have long recognized that
Jesus' life was characterized by vibrancy, love, commitment,
clarity, and joy. We all yearn to share in these traits, and by
studying Jesus we can discern that he sees in us the potential to
become as he was. After all, Jesus didn't go around asking people
to believe certain things about him—he invited them to follow him
into the abundant life he wanted to share.
Brian C. Taylor focuses on the fresh, immediate, liberating quality
of what Jesus had to say about life. “His guidance about how to
live struck me to the core,” Taylor writes. Taylor's succinct
summations of what Jesus taught—Don't worry; Love everybody; Help
the poor; Become simple; Face into conflict; Change the world;
Forgive yourself for being human, and so on—provide the basis for
this series of reflections on the transformative wisdom that
inspired those who had ears to hear to drop everything and follow
him. Jesus continues to astonish and transform those who hear him,
and Becoming Human is a deep well of wisdom for any who wish
to give glory to God by becoming fully alive.
Brian C. Taylor lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he has been rector of St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church since 1983. He is also the author of Becoming Christ: Transformation through Contemplation.