Book Review of Thank God It's Friday By William H. Willimon

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY
By William H. Willimon
ISBN 0-687-46490-0
Reviewed By Clint Walker

The last seven weeks I have been preaching on the seven last words of the cross. One of the resources I have used has been THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY: ENCOUNTERING THE SEVEN LAST WORDS FROM THE CROSSby Will Willimon. In this book I discovered what I believe to be a collection of sermons that Bishop Willimon has preached during his career on each of these seven last words. What I found was a book that was very helpful in my preaching preparation, as well as a spiritual guide in helping me place myself under the cross for the 2011 season of Lent.

One of the things I love about Willimon's writing and preaching is that he appears to be unafraid. He is open about his mistakes and his victories, which takes courage. It also takes courage to boldly state the truth about what the Scripture is saying without trying to nuance it or make it more pallatable. Willimon demonstrates both kinds of courage.

Willimon is also skilled at bringing out parts of the text he is preaching or writing about that other people might miss. This is true in all his books. It is also true in this one.

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAYspeaks both with profundity and with simplicity as it shares about what is happening on the cross. This is especially true, in my opinion, with the afterword. Usually I don't read afterwords, prefaces, or epilogues, but I did with this book. The afterword in this text is an expansion on the author's theology of the cross. The discussion of Luther and Barth was enjoyable. Even more helpful was the author's insistence in the centrality of the cross not only during the Lenten season, but in our entire Christian journey.

A book I would strongly recommend to anyone wanting to understand more about Jesus and his message.