“A kingdom life is always a nonconforming life, and subversion is a form of witness.”

Often, when we think about what the Kingdom of God will look like, we forget that we are called to be witnesses of that kingdom, and we forget that that kingdom is already here among us. Surprised By Paradox by Jen Pollock Michel does a wonderful job explaining the concept of paradox in God’s kingdom, reminding us that God’s kingdom is an upside down one, where the righteous are not the rich but those who are poor, where children are to be heard and not just seen.

As I read through Surprised By Paradox and reflected upon the questions at the end of each segment, I found myself longing for this upside down kingdom, and hope that my life begins to act as a witness to that kingdom. Everyone should read this book out of longing for an upside down kingdom, one where tears are no more but one where everlasting joy and peace reign. The only way for this kingdom to be made among us is for the kingdom to change us first. We can’t change others using fear or suffering, but when we meet others in their suffering,there we’ll see change.

We should not fear the mystery of the kingdom life; rather we should embrace it, reminding ourselves that in the mystery, God is found. In the mystery, we worship the God who sees, who knows our suffering, and who knows our hearts’ desires. May Surprised By Paradox remind us that the mystery of God is not a terrible thing, but is a gift that blesses each of us who seek God diligently, as we strive to see Him face to face.
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It should not be surprising that a book about paradoxes can be a little confusing and maybe feel a little contradictory. But given how moved and informed I was by the last couple of chapters, it may be where I am in my life, and at a different time, I would have gotten more out of the first couple of chapters. Well worth the read in any case. ( )

Summary: In a world where things are often defined in either-or terms and a quest for certainty, Michel proposes there are many things, beginning with basic biblical realities that are both-and, inviting our continuing curiosity.

Whether it is schism in the church, political divides, or just a good old marital conflict, the parties often have defined things sharply in either-or terms, one way or another. Jen Pollock Michel explains how she began to look for a third way, and to write this book. A family member had been lying to her, repeatedly. She described her dilemma to her counselor.

"...I needed light for groping my way out of this tunnel with two exits: should I suffer lying or sever the relationship?

'What if there's a third way?' she asked gently. Her language sounded like a struck bell, especially because 'third way' language was something my spiritual director often used with me. It was as if here was yet another invitation to find a sure-footed way on some undiscovered path--to find and where I had previously imagined only either and or. Here was an invitation to 'lean not on my own understanding' and find wisdom in the way of paradox" (pp. 22-23).

She discovered that paradox ran through the pages of scripture, that Christian orthodoxy is full of and, beginning with the incarnation, this idea that the Son of God came to earth, fully God, and also fully human. If paradox is at the heart of the nature of the Lord we trust and follow, might we look for God in the and, rather than insisting on answers to either-or questions. This paradox also suggests that we find the spiritual in the material, the living God in the stuff of everyday life. It also suggests that to conform to God's ideal for our lives, is to live fully the "one wild and precious life" that is ours, expressing in our own uniqueness, the image of God in our lives.

She goes on to explore three other paradoxes. There is the paradox of the kingdom, which is already here and not fully come, where the least are the greatest, where we both give lavishly and enjoy lavishly what we are given, and where strength takes the form of vulnerability whose crowning hour is the cross. Grace confronts us with other paradoxes. Treasured, yet not for any personal excellency. Finding favor when the wrath we deserved falls upon his favored Son. Michel writes, "We don't get grace because we change our lives--but our lives are indelibly changed because we get grace. Finally there is lament, the raw, unvarnished plea to God of people in pain that God has not shielded them from, that is a paradoxical kind of faith. It takes God seriously enough to become angry, to speak with blunt honesty rather than pretty pieties when what has happened in one's life doesn't square with our understanding of who God is.

Michel is a compelling author, one who can relate the depths of theology to teaching her daughter to drive, and her need for grace. She weaves scripture, teaching of the theological "greats," contemporary realities, images, and personal stories into a narrative that sings and helps us examine with fresh eyes what we thought we knew down pat, helping us by asking, "did you notice this and this?"

A friend once observed that when we try to get rid of the tensions in our faith, or our lives by getting rid of one side of the tension to focus on the other, we make life simpler, but also smaller and more confined. Jen Pollock Michel invites us to live with paradoxes, and to celebrate the ands of God. She proposes that this opens us up to mystery, to surprise, and to the depth of the riches of knowing our God and what it means to live in the and of his purposes, to experience how grace transforms our work, and how our laments in all their perplexity may be among the most robust acts of faith. What might this "third way" mean as Christians are present to a world mired in "either-or?"

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )