Theology: Spiritus Creator by Regin Prenter.

Consider the opening sentence of the classic study on Luther’s theology of the Holy Spirit by Danish theologian Regin Prenter: “The concept of the Holy Spirit completely dominates Luther’s theology.” I suspect this claim would evoke astonishment from your average Lutheran (to say nothing of skeptics elsewhere in the Christian family). “Justification means that God in the Spirit is present with us. He struggles in the midst of the reality of sin and death. This is the forgiveness of sin. Sanctification means that God in the Spirit also in the future remains near us, struggling in the midst of the final destruction of sin and death.” In fact, as Prenter argues, all of Luther’s insistence on the Spirit’s communication through the word and sacraments is to block human efforts at climbing up toward God, so that all human activity is reduced to one thing: “the expectation of the Spirit. Yes, only the expectation of the Spirit! That means, the expectation of God himself personally.” If Lutherans have forgotten this, so much the worse for them. This book is a good way to start remembering.

Novel: To Cook a Bear by Mikael Niemi.

And here I thought I was the first and only author to make a historic Lutheran pastor a detective (as I did in the story “Cobalt: A Mystery” in my collection Protons and Fleurons, also coming up soon on my Substack, Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Stories). My choice of detective was Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, in colonial America; Niemi’s is Lars Levi Laestadius, the revivalist preacher of nineteenth-century Finland, assisted by a young Sami man, Jussi. If you’re into Scandi-noir, this is right up your alley; if you’re new to it, be warned that there is a section of gut-punching horror that certainly caught me off guard. Yet it is a serious, thoughtful story of faith, ministry, hostility and hatred to the gospel, and the at-times unbearable consequences of fidelity.

Cookbook: Cold Weather Cooking by Sarah Leah Chase.

The recipes of a Nantucket caterer, in the same extravagant vein as The Silver Palate, this one is all lavishness all the time, from the end of summer clear through to Easter. It’s in some ways a quixotic undertaking: summer is the easy time to love and to love cooking, not winter; and what is left to say about the Thanksgiving table? Chase is up to the challenge, with over-the-top versions of everything from lasagne to stuffing, soup to salad. Plus the best array of cranberry recipes you ever came across.

And don’t forget—with Lent just a couple days off—you can get my new ebook Lenten Postil on the Passion totally for free!