As I write this reflection, news of Frederick Buechner’s death at age 96 has filled my social media feeds. The books of Beuchner, a Presbyterian pastor and acclaimed writer, sit on the shelf of every preacher I know. One of my favorite tributes I’ve read is a 1997 republished Christianity Today article about Buechner’s life and work by Phillip Yancey. Yancey paints a picture of a pastor for whom writing is his ministry — specifically writing about the ordinary, unexpected moments of grace where Buechner believed God would most likely be found. Moments like parking on the side of the road in a time of personal crisis only to observe a passing car with a license plate that spells, “T-R-U-S-T.” Haunted by his father’s death by suicide when he was ten, Buechner’s central message included a determined choice of life. In his book Now and Then, Buechner wrote: “If I were called upon to state in a few words the essence of everything I was trying to say both as a novelist and as a preacher, it would be something like this: Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.” The Bible also urges us to choose life. Take, for instance, Deuteronomy 30:15-20 — the conclusion of Moses’ farewell discourse to the people of Israel and his last chance to influence them before they cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. On the brink of death, Moses implores his people to “choose life.” Moses’ speech takes the form of an imperative, a command that insists on the possibility of renewal for Israel. In the past, they had strayed from God and succumbed to the temptation of idols. Now, Moses declares, they have another chance. He lays out their options: “life and death, blessings and curses.” You can find the rest of the commentary on our website. | 
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