Jesus: A Pilgrimmage by James Martin, S.J.

Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin, SJ. Near the beginning of 2017, there were nine books I wanted to read about Jesus. My goal was to finish them all before Easter. This book was among them, but with it weighing in at a hefty 533 pages, I was tempted to save its reading until next year, beginning on Ash Wednesday and completing it during the Lenten season. 

Instead, I forged on with it as well as the other books. Though I finished the others first, it was mostly because they were shorter. This one had a unique charm that the others lacked in that Mr. Martin visited Israel and went everywhere that Jesus went. I loved "going along for the ride" to all of those places and learning so much about what is real about each one, and what is more than likely legend. 

Spending two weeks in the Holy Land, Mr. Martin visited Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Jordan River; the Sea of Galilee,; Gennesaret, Capernaum, Bethesda, Jericho, Bethany, Jerusalem, Gethsemane and Golgotha, among other places. 

Interspersed with the diary of his journey were teachings about Gospel passages that took place in the areas he visited. It opened the scriptures to me, enabling me to see Jesus' teachings in a way I wouldn't have, had I not read this lovely book. 

I caught glimpses of the historical Jesus as well as the Christ of faith. Mr. Martin's thoughts on historical Jesus scholarship (which I find disturbing) were very reassuring to me. 

So in every way, this was a wonderful book and definitely worth the extended time it took to read its 533 pages.