Gillian T. W. Ahlgren Tenderness of God

Annotation

<p>At moments in history, individuals have embodied the gospel message with creativity and passion. One such moment began when a returned veteran named Francis Bernardone found a whole new world in a desolate space just outside Assisi: a leper colony. Drawn to discover the incarnate God, and joined by a collaborator as able and determined as he, Francis, and Clare of Assisi's desire to live authentically in gospel simplicity ushered in a revolutionary sensitivity to the presence of God within the human community.</p><p>Today, eight hundred years later, the first pope to take the name Francis invites us to engage the ';revolution of tenderness' to which we are ';summoned by the God who became flesh.' The example of Pope Francis gives us a new and vivid sense of just how compelling radical sincerity and reverent encounter with others can be. Capitalizing on the legacy of Francis and Clare and the energy of a visionary pope who raises critical questions about how to be faithful to the gospel, <i>The Tenderness of God</i> invites readers into a rich conversation across time and space about how to recapture our humanity and nurture our God-given capacity to live meaningfully and joyfully in communion with others.</p>