Signs of the Times
Author JEAN VANIER
Publisher DARTON.LONGMAN.TODD
ISBN 0-232-53015-5
Partly because of time constraints and sometimes for other reasons there are few books that I read twice. This small book is one that I have just finished going through a second time. Its title is one that grabs the attention and its subtitle “Seven Paths of Hope for a Troubled World” increase the interest. However, you will be disappointed if you are looking for a kind of eschatological thriller in genre of things like the “Left Behind” series. Jean Vanier is worth reading. He pioneered the original “L’Arche” and “Faith and Light” communities. A profound commitment to helping the poor, disabled and disadvantaged undergirds all that he has done and communities have proliferated throughout the world. He has written many books, I have managed to read a few of them and found benefit from this man of a Roman Catholic background. He is regarded as a philosopher, humanitarian but above all, he unfolds the message of the Lord Jesus in what he writes and what he has done. In this book there are seven chapters in which Vanier identifies seven paths toward the forging of societies that are inclusive of all, where success and poverty are brought together and true care is foundational because of the love of God shed abroad in the heart of all. Much of what he writes rises, as does his ministry from the truths and emphases set forth in Vatican 2. He quotes some aspects but there is a constant recourse to the heart of God as expressed by the Lord Jesus in what these chapters comprise. He faces squarely the humiliation of the church in the emerging tragedy of sexual abuse that has taken place, he affirms that there must be a path from humiliation to humility manifested among all God’s people. Not evasion but confession and humility is the way forward. A release from conformity so pressurising in the communities of today towards affirmation of the individual conscience and then chapters indicating the pathway from exclusion to encounter, power to authority, isolation to community, strength to vulnerability and finally from secret to mystery. Almost on every page there are nuggets of wisdom, unfolding of the heart of God for mankind and true promise of the possibility of change. The book is a challenge, albeit graciously and logically spelt out, a rebuke and direction to society as we now know it among the nations. This book should have appeal to all who have a concern for the world in which we live but for those of us who love God’s Name and His church, it is a serious and vital read.
