It is rare when an author presents a collection of dialogues that so poignantly captures the power and simplicity of the gospel. Roger Timm has done just that. Acting Out the Messages of Mark and John, Lenten Dialogues for Lectionary Cycle B offers readers an opportunity to hear some of the most central narratives told throughout the chapters of Mark and John. A journey through Timm’s dialogues delivers a fresh perspective to the Lenten season, allowing time and space for study and reflection before arriving at the Passion narrative. Useful for a midweek Lenten gathering, a Sunday worship service, a retreat setting, or private and group devotionals, Acting Out the Messages of Mark and John relies on simple dialogue and staging as it introduces us to biblical characters such as Peter and his wife, Anna; St. James the Less and his parents, Alphaeus and Mary; Nicodemus; Jairus; and Mary of Bethany. Timm imagines each character’s response to their immersion into the often-surprising narrative of God’s kingdom, and he reveals ancient questions that many within today’s church still ponder: Who is this man named Jesus? What is our response to divine forgiveness? What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for us?

This collection of dialogues does not fall short in its call to believers as it urges them to live among God’s people and respond to the word of God. It is only in this response, after all, that we can proclaim the truth of the gospel and pursue justice and peace throughout all the earth.

The Rev. Dr. Roger E. Timm retired in 2011 after serving eleven years as pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Riverside, Illinois. From January 1993 to November 2000 he was pastor of St. James Lutheran Church, Naperville, Illinois. Timm served in various campus ministry positions from 1973 to 1992 at Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin; Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania; University Lutheran Chapel at UCLA; and Concordia College, Bronxville, New York. Timm’s first pastorate was at St. John-Concordia Lutheran Church in the south Bronx, New York, from 1970-1973. He received his M.Div. degree from Concordia Seminary and an M.A. in philosophy from Washington University, both in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1970. Timm received a Ph.D. in religious studies from Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, New York, in 1975. Pastor Timm and his wife Marilyn have two adult daughters and two grandchildren.