The following is an excerpt from Bone of My Bone by Grant Romoser-Claunch. It’s a featured Speakeasy selection, and there are still limited review copies available for qualified reviewers.
“The way for Christians to enter into the mystery of and relationship with God is through Christology.”
“Remember Christ has no human body now upon the earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours, my brothers and sisters, are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion has to look upon the world, and yours are the lips with which His love has to speak. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless men now, and yours the feet with which He is to go about doing good through His Church which is His body.”
To talk about Christology is to also talk about incarnation — that the Word became flesh. “God with us.” Incarnation is the first and most foundational aspect of Christology. It is the God-drawn-near revelation. It is the light by which all the rest is seen. If Christology has anything to offer, it must meet us in our humanity. Divinity must be inextricably linked to humanity to have any merit. Any theology that says God is distant, uncaring, uninvested, or unmoving isn’t worth our time or adoration. God must be in this. Or else nothing really matters, even God.
To reuse the James Cone quote from the introduction of the book: “Christianity begins and ends with the man Jesus—his life, death, and resurrection. He is the Revelation, the special disclosure of God to man, revealing who God is and what his purpose for man is.”
I waste no time on a shallow incarnation that purports that the fullness of God dwelled in Christ Jesus 2,000 years ago yet is no longer with us in the world today. The Christological claim of the incarnation is of a deep incarnation. It is the claim that even beyond the historically bound human person, the fullness of Christ himself is with us in real, tangible ways today. Which is to take Jesus’ words seriously: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you,” and, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” What else does he mean when he takes bread and wine and says that it is his body and blood?
He must surely mean that he is always and unceasingly with us and in us. Nothing short of that will do. No Body But Yours I saw Christ crucified, and, in the same instant, I saw the power of his resurrection.
I saw Christ on October 30, 2023. It wasn’t the first time, but I had never seen this side of him before. His blood was A positive and there was a tiny 67 mL volume of him, containing 45 mL 5% Albumin in Dextran. This was the day Simon received his bone marrow transplant: “Day 0.” Christ’s cross fashioned into an IV pole. His blood flowed by nothing but gravity pulling it out of the bag. The speed of God is a slow drip. No machine, no pump to regulate the speed of flow. This isn’t a regular blood infusion. Just Christ and God’s intricate and good creation of gravity working together in life-saving synergy: the Divine and the Divine’s creation working in harmony.
Christ didn’t just get wheeled into the room on October 30, but had been at work, had been present, before that holy day, too. Christ is the little girl whose umbilical cord blood was used to heal Simon. Christ is the parents who chose to donate it. Christ in the hospital staff at her birth. Christ in the OBGYN who followed the strict yet proper protocol to collect, handle, and ship the cord blood safely. Christ in the transport teams to carry the stem cells. Christ in the weather and road conditions to allow for safe transport. Christ in the ones who processed the sample. Christ in the ones who froze it. Christ in Simon’s team who chose that specific sample. Christ in Simon’s nursing and doctoral staff. The deep incarnation of Christ everywhere, in all things.
Christ in the marrow.
Christ has no umbilical cord but yours.
Christ has no bone marrow but yours.
Christ has no stem cells but yours.
Praise for Bone of My Bone
“What a beautiful book! Grant weaves profound knowledge of scripture and doctrine to think theologically and spiritually in a terrible circumstance: his son’s cancer treatment. The pediatric oncology ward becomes a deep place to discover God, for ‘a God who can’t be found in suffering can’t be found anywhere.’ No one will read this book without being enriched by Good News. I will return to this book very often.”
—Paul Stroble, Retired Adjunct Professor, Eden Theological Seminary
“Bone of My Bone is a heartfelt emotional narrative about a father seeking spiritual understanding following his young son’s cancer diagnosis. The author, a pastor, shares his insights and reflections during this challenging time, inviting readers to engage in a deeper conversation about their own experiences and to explore the question of where God is during unimaginable circumstances. This book is a poignant, vulnerable, and thought-provoking story that is a must-read.”
—Jami Curley, Dean of the College of Nursing and Social Sciences, Lourdes University
“In Bone of my Bone, Grant Romoser-Claunch has brought the work of theology out of the abstract world of ideas and into the living, breathing, and suffering world of a pediatric cancer ward. Eschewing easy answers or trite solutions, Romoser-Claunch is the be praised not only for his theological acumen but even more so for his hard-won human sensitivities that make this work achingly powerful. I commend this book to all who may wonder what theology is really for in a world that all too often turns away from the pain that lies at its heart.”
—Adam Ployd, Dean, Davenport College, Yale University
“At once a stirring memoir of parenthood in crisis, a theological interrogation of suffering and pain, and a pastoral offering of a family’s journey with pediatric cancer, Grant Romoser-Claunch has written a book that can guide, challenge, and comfort readers on various levels. Bone of My Bone boldly advances theological inquiry into the challenging subject of theodicy, even as it pulls no punches in sharing the agonizing personal experience of a pastor and his family. Honest, brave, and beautiful, this book tells a powerful story of suffering and hope and forges new important insights in Christian theology and pastoral care.”
—Deborah Krause, President, Eden Theological Seminary
About the Author
Grant Romoser-Claunch is foremost a husband and a father. Professionally, he works at Newsong Fellowship in Edwardsville, Illinois, as Pastor of Discipleship. In his work he seeks to help teenagers and adults alike to live into a vibrant, meaningful, and liberative faith.
Edwardsville Intelligencer – Edwardsville father shares faith and fear in memoir about son’s cancer
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