Jesus: A Pilgrimage

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." (Mar.)