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Jesus

A Pilgrimage

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

"James Martin's riveting new meditation on Jesus is one of the best books I've read in years—on any subject." — Mary Karr, author of Lit

James Martin, SJ, gifted storyteller, editor at large of America magazine, popular media commentator, and New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, brings the Gospels to life in Jesus: A Pilgrimage, and invites believers and seekers alike to experience Jesus through Scripture, prayer and travel.

Combining the fascinating insights of historical Jesus studies with profound spiritual insights about the Christ of faith, Father Martin recreates the world of first-century Galilee and Judea to usher you into Jesus's life and times and show readers how Jesus speaks to us today. Martin also brings together the most up-to-date Scripture scholarship, wise spiritual reflections, and lighthearted stories about traveling through the Holy Land with a fellow (and funny) Jesuit, visiting important sites in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

The person at the heart of the Gospels can seem impossibly distant. Stories about his astonishing life and ministry—clever parables that upended everyone's expectations, incredible healings that convinced even skeptics, nature miracles that dazzled the dumbstruck disciples—can seem far removed from our own daily lives, hard to understand, and at times irrelevant. But in Jesus you will come to know him as Father Martin knows him: Messiah and Savior, as well as friend and brother.

WINNER OF THE 2016 ILLUMINATION AWARD (GOLD). WINNER OF THE 2015 CATHOLIC PRESS ASSOCIATION BOOK AWARD

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 24, 2014
      Inviting readers of "deep faith or no faith" to meet the Jesus he loves, Martin weaves stories of his Holy Land pilgrimage, undertaken to explore the Gospels, with scholarship, analysis, and personal reflections. The noted Jesuit, media commentator, and author (The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything) balances faith and reason in the classic Catholic tradition as he ponders the meaning of significant events in Jesus's life. Martin's broad knowledge of current academic work informs his imaginative exploration of possible answers. Dismissing the common "rationalizing tendency" toward the Gospels, he emphasizes that Jesus, at once both human and divine, is "not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived." His commitment to a traditional Christian understanding provides a bracing counterpoint to recent studies of the historical Jesus and non-canonical gospels. Martin communicates a joyful faith in God's healing and the ultimate hope offered by the Resurrection. Throughout, vivid details of his search in blistering heat for holy sites both authentic and dubious anchor this complex, compelling spiritual testimony. "You've met my Jesus," he concludes. "Now meet your own."

    • Library Journal

      April 1, 2014

      In this work--part travelog, part biblical commentary, part memoir, part meditation--prolific Jesuit author Martin (culture editor, America magazine; My Life with the Saints) devotes a chapter to each of the towns he visited while on a pilgrimage in the Holy Land, villages in which particular incidents in the life of Jesus took place. He explains and reflects on the relevant Gospel stories as he proceeds. For example, in the chapter "Tabgha," he considers the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, and reflects on an incident in his experience when Jesus made small things great, and suggests how this event can help those who feel their efforts are inadequate. The chapters are ordered according to the life of Jesus, and do not correspond to the order of Martin's visit, so the account isn't so much about places as it is about coming to understand Jesus better and fostering a deeper relationship with him. Martin often refers accessibly to the scholarship about a particular biblical passage, with the relevant text provided in full at the end of each section. VERDICT This will appeal to readers (not just Catholics) seeking an introduction to the Gospels that is personal but rooted in serious scholarship.--Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, NJ

      Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      March 1, 2014
      A consideration of Christ, human and divine, from an on-native-ground perspective. Many people have difficulty wrapping their heads around Jesus' humanity, writes Jesuit priest and scholar Martin (Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life, 2011, etc.). "Beyond academic studies," he writes, "I have come to know Jesus in three other ways: prayer, experience, and pilgrimage." All those forms of knowing came into play when the author left New York and headed for the Middle East. "Traveling through the Holy Land," he writes cheerfully, "is like visiting the family home of a good friend. No matter how well you know the person, you'll understand your friend better afterward." Martin guides readers on a tour of the geographical places from Jesus' life, sometimes threatening to be overcome by sentimentality as he realizes that Jesus ate here and walked there ("Jesus was here, I kept thinking. Jesus was here"). The theological and ethical lessons that Martin draws from the biblical landscape are illuminating and unobjectionable even though he allows that some of that geography is suspect--e.g., the Via Dolorosa has become commodified and overly touristy. Still, the author's enthusiasm at realizing that he may have arrived at the very spots where Jesus had his last supper makes for meaningful reading. Better still are his gentle commentaries on scenes in Christ's life: the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, to which he supplies a close reading of the Greek to determine the root meaning of too easily misread terms such as "meek," "poor," "merciful" and "peacemaker"--terms that, properly understood, might make the 1 percent among us a bit uneasy. An intelligent, lively travelogue, well-timed to arrive for the Easter season, and a welcome complement to a direct reading of the Gospels.

      COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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