Marilyn Chandler McEntyre’s new book is, well, inviting. Its title, its cover, its content. I’d categorize the short two- or three-page chapters as “reflections.” Each (there are more than 50) jumps off from a scriptural verse, more specifically a partial sentence, that has captured the author’s attention.

So far, that sounds like a devotional format, but there’s no typical concluding prayer or question to ponder. And the author’s essayistic prose is a little unpredictable. The tone varies: some social or spiritual observations, some invitations, some exhortations. Many of the opening biblical quotations are so familiar they could be easily overlooked; they might be called clichéd. But McEntyre successfully puts new life into tired lines, sometimes going for spiritual insight, sometimes more sociological or psychological.

"McEntyre successfully puts new life into tired lines, sometimes going for spiritual insight, sometimes more sociological or psychological."

I read most of the pieces in one day. Their message would be better absorbed or digested in small bits, more like vitamins, one a day. They’re not randomly or seasonally organized but divided into three sections: Assurance, Invitation and Admonition, and Mystery and Surprise.

Assurances remind us that Christians are part of a “community” of saints, what it might mean to “dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8) and to be “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). The longest portion, drawing lessons of invitation, suggests that we guard our hearts against greed, that we pray for discernment, that we “love kindness” (Micah 6:8), that we should gather for worship, that we imitate that which is worthy and good, aesthetically or practically.

I most enjoyed the final section, addressing aspects of “mystery and surprise.” I mention McEntyre’s take on 1 Samuel 16:17, where King Saul, looking for solace in the midst of emotional distress, asks for a musician “who can play well.” It wasn’t only young David’s slingshot mastery that gave him access to the palace; his musical skills drew him into the inner sanctum: “I’m struck by how this simple request [of King Saul] shows how God works with our gifts…. We may think we’re developing them for our own pleasure, but the fact is that they’re also ours for purposes we don’t know at the outset. When David sat in the fields on long afternoons playing his lyre while the sheep grazed, he had no idea…

“…How like the God who is ‘Master of Surprises’ to find a ‘man who can play’ to govern a wayward people, hungry for a leader who can sing a new song.”

That kind of insight makes me recommend that you read WHAT’S IN A PHRASE?