What’s New, What’s Old
Telling Stories, Trading Quips, Brainstorming, Spitballing, and Arguing with Saint Matthew
- Biblical Studies & Commentaries
- Publisher: Resource Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2023
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Publisher's Description
Cordell Strug has always loved collages, those jumbled forms assembled from parts of other, usually more coherent, forms. During the pandemic, when everyone had time to meditate and entertain possibilities, it came to him that by extracting the stories, wisecracks, and reflections from the sermons he'd given through the years, he might construct a kind of collage-commentary on the passages of Scripture that he had addressed. This book is what he came up with from the sermons preached on Matthew's Gospel. Like any living tradition, Christianity is always hearing the voices of its past. It echoes them, expands them, argues with them; it finds light in them or stands bewildered by their darkness. In every living Christian voice, we hear the present both questioning the past and trying to guide the future. In this book, the reader can hear some of the layers of those overlapping conversations in one pastor's preaching ministry.
Endorsements (3)
“Having known Reverend Cordell Strug for over twenty years now, I was pleased to receive a copy of his newest book—which is delightful—for review. This ‘commentary’ reflects his sometimes-sideways view on life and Scripture, which is always illuminating. As a Lutheran pastor who followed the Revised Common Lectionary, his thoughts reported here only cover the Gospel of Matthew texts assigned by the Lectionary. This has left me wanting more. Thank you, Cordell.”
“Cordell Strug’s recollections of his life’s work, shared through sermons and theological reflections, keep me grounded in my own work. I’m grateful he continues to share his wisdom (and humor!) with those of us who have joined him in the ‘work’ called pastoral ministry.”
“In What’s New, What’s Old, prodigious prairie preacher Cordell Strug assembles fragments from his sermons on the book of Matthew over the past forty years. The result is a Frederick Buechner-like collection of pieces that form a patchwork quilt of insightful and often humorous commentary on these familiar Lectionary texts. This book is for pastors mining for sermon fodder and anyone wanting to take a thoughtful and sometimes hysterical walk through the First Gospel.”
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