Getting on Toward Home

Christoph Keller, III has a literary sensibility, an appreciation for pop culture, and a theologian's intellectual heft. Joy and grief coexist in these pages, along with faith and hope, light and sacred meaning. I loved these heartfelt, vivid portraits. May we all be remembered with such attention and care. Eliza Borne, Former Editor, Oxford American 'Death is but a middle point between two lives, ' wrote the 17th century bishop, Jeremy Taylor. Preaching at a funeral or memorial service requires attention to both lives: the life of the deceased as we have known them, and their birthday into eternity--that larger life that awaits us all. With great care and sensitivity Keller's sermons honor both lives and offer the comfort of remembrance, and the conviction of the life to come. As such, they are models of what such preaching should be, and also provide rich fare for reflection. Frank T Griswold XXV Presiding Bishop, the Episcopal Church Priest first but also scholar, Chris Keller is adept at showing in this volume of evocative sermons, all preached at funerals, that theology is 'faith seeking understanding.' Placing each deceased's life in a larger context, that continues to resonate on a human level, Keller leads the reader naturally and movingly into the Christian belief that when we die our lives, though changed, are not ended. In helping illuminate the wonder and individuality of each life grounded in the reality of their humanness, Keller points to hints and intimations of all of our lives as actual 'journeys to God, ' in Aquinas' term--hence, the volume's accessible title Getting on toward Home. Effortlessly moving from the temporal to the eternal, this slim volume helps assure us of that ultimate reality; we are all on a journey to our ultimate home. No doubt comforting to the families and his listeners at the time, the collection now offers hope and courage to any reader fortunate enough to pick it up. The Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd, III Ninth Dean, Washington National Cathedral Christoph Keller, III has mastered the formula for combining mind and heart into what he composes. This is especially true of his funeral sermons, where the heart almost always takes the lead through his homiletic journeys toward resurrection. Chris writes about a dear young man he baptized as an infant who died an early death. He has homilies for both of his well-known parents. He writes about beloved parishioners. He presides over the funeral of a talented physician who committed suicide. He preaches at the death of someone he has known since childhood with mental illness. Keller's funeral sermons simply best represent Frederick Buechner's description of preaching in Telling Secrets. It is to try to put the Gospel into words not the way you would compose an essay but the way you would write a poem or a love letter--putting your heart into it, your own excitement, most of all your whole life.' The Rev. Joanna Seibert, MD. Deacon and Author