Meditations for the Lone Traveler: The Life of Faith in a Changing World

by Mark W. Hamilton

These twenty-two meditations on the songs, prayers, and stories of the Bible invite readers to imagine themselves as part of a world in which human beings may fully live into their sufferings and joys as part of a vibrant while still critically searching faith in God. Here we see prophets and poets, as well as ordinary men and women, embrace the realities of life without apology or fear. Each meditation opens with the author's fresh translation of the biblical text and concludes with a prayer that seeks the critical edge of faith as an active stance toward human existence. The movement from text to commentary to prayer reflects a basic conviction that the encounter with the Bible allows persons of many cultures, whether believers or unbelievers, to engage the deepest layers of human existence today. These reflections come out of the author's search across cultures to find a common humanity before God. Since the Bible is a non-Western book in its origins and much of its present life, interpretation of that book can both confront the particularities of Western Christianity with its own limitations and offer sources of renewal for communal and individual spirituality. These reflections aim to contribute to that larger end.

126 pages, Paperback

Published May 31, 2017

Reviews

[Ben Fike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm struggling to write this review. This is in part because after reading the poetic and lucid prose of Meditation for the Lone Traveler, all my writing feels flat. That's the kind of book this is. It's the kind of book that makes me want to be better - more faithful, more trusting in God, more careful with my words, more relentless in discovering the good and beautiful, more courageous in my pursuit of justice, etc...

After completing the 22 meditations on scripture that comprise this brief book, I feel convicted. And yet, I do not at all feel "beat up" or manipulated. Hamilton descends deeply into the texts of Christian scripture, and emerges with a vision of God, humanity, and a possible future. It's a compelling vision and it invites a response of trust and action.

Mark Hamilton was one of my seminary professors and has since become a good friend. He continues to be a wise guide for me, pointing me always in the direction of God. I am grateful for the opportunity to hear his voice in the pages of this book and will plan to revisit it.

[Byron Fike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twenty two devotional thoughts from one who has drunk deeply from the Living Water and devoted his life to educating and inspiring others. Mark Hamilton writes in such a way that one feels invited to join him on his journey of discipleship with the Master.