Book recommendation...
Mary Gordon, ‘Reading Jesus; A writer’s encounter with the Gospels’ – pub. 2009 isbn 978-0-375-42457-1
This book is a pleasant surprise, where I usually put such things aside once barely into them, this one I found myself at its end and still glad that I read it. (Surprise, I borrowed this from the Library, mainly because I thought that it would unlikely be worth more than a cursory read.)This does not mean that I would judge that the author never runs on about any subject. She does, but sparingly. Her observations about the potential anti-Semitic presentation in the Gospel of John chapter eight would be one such example. Yet she does so from the experience of part of her heritage being Jewish, and therefore responds to John’s Gospel about certain Jews being ‘of their father the devil’ as being ultimately a general attack upon all Jews. I can appreciate her perspective, yet I still would not read it this way. And this is where my one observation of excess stops. It is from this perspective, that of a ‘Reader,’ that Mary Gordon writes this narrative, and it is from this perspective, as well, but here, I as the ‘Reader, that I found myself anticipating her next line and her chosen word by word to express each one.
The author does admit to her own prejudices as a person, a writer and reader. She is a prolific author, both fiction and non-fiction, and with both it’s her well crafted narratives that keep a reader’s attention. Her heritage is both Jewish as well as Roman Catholic, the latter of which she still affirms too and what’s given her the collective imagery of the Gospels, from hearing them read during Mass. She also admits to being a feminist and post-modernist (her evolution is clear in her other writings too), writing about both over the years. What this book does, is to take us along her journey of ‘reading, rereading, and reading,’ as she’s done with other beloved texts, but this time it’s the Gospel texts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. If you love words well placed, and narrative well crafted, you may find as I have – this is worth the read. Christian or not, Theist or not, this is a writer simply making their observations, acknowledging their own prejudices and hoping some of them will be better informed in the process.
Watch out. If you’re easily offended by observations, no matter how well written, that endeavor to be honest with what a writer sees as obvious but contradictory, this may not be for you. If you fear being converted by her writing, there is no such inclination. Again, if one needs to eliminate all antimonies, and must have all their ducks in a row, Mary Gordon’s book may not be for you. Also, she has no reservation from a passing by jab at fundamentalist religious readings as well as the claims of atheism being superior. After reading the words of Jesus to someone asked to follow him, who said, ‘Let me go and bury my father,’ to which he said to them, ‘Let the dead buy their own dead,’ she concludes: “To bury the dead might be the most pure of all ethical acts because no reciprocity is possible. I would have buried my father (of whom she loves, and expresses this in part of her story). I would not have followed Jesus. I would have known that I was right.” This is an honest response by a ‘Reader of Jesus.’ I would suggest that we all need to have such honesty in all of our reading, no matter the text, specifically when we’re reading it.
Here’s a brief reading from ‘Reading Jesus; A writer’s encounter with the Gospels,’ that may give a better context for why I read this book through to its end, and afterwards would say that I am the better for it, both for its inspiration to read and to do so honestly and to reread those books that we’ve loved, as well as it being an enjoyable read of a writer and reader:
“…When is a book not a book? When it is the Bible. But, if it’s not a book, what is it? Because after all it’s something to read. And so my method is simply a method of reading and rereading. An attempt at openness, a hope that I will be enlightened, shocked, surprised. I want to read the Gospels in a way that relates to these words of Simone Weil: “Our thought should be in relation to all particular and already formulated thoughts, as a man on a mountain, who, as he looks forward, sees also below him, without actually looking at them, a great many forests and plains. Above all our thoughts should be empty, waiting, not seeking anything, but ready to receive in its naked truth the object that is to penetrate it.” This is an impossible project, and in that it is impossible, I feel drawn to it. Though this task of adding my voice – personal, formed importantly by words – to the many voices who have spoken so many words about the words for which people have lived and died and killed and been killed.”
It is a rare thing for me to read completely through a contemporary book on anything remotely religious, and more specifically on the Gospels. They are almost always at best disappointing, and worse they're repeats of some fifty year old redaction criticism on one hand, or a positive thinking rehash on the other. Then there are those that pretend to be an exercise in comparative ancient source texts, when actually all they do is use both collections of texts as a means to tell us how they agree with the author's views. For me, all of these approaches are a waste of time, intellectually and or any other potential benefit. Mary Gordon's book, for me, was a refreshing read on all levels. Primarily it is her honesty, again, of observation, as well as her honest lack of pretense in her own approaching of the Four Gospels. She does not hide behind sweet euphemisms or metaphors, and she recognizes her prejudice along side of or over against those of others. This too is refreshing. Agree or disagree with her, I ended with being glad that I took the time to read her reading of Jesus.
a good word, timothy
This book is a pleasant surprise, where I usually put such things aside once barely into them, this one I found myself at its end and still glad that I read it. (Surprise, I borrowed this from the Library, mainly because I thought that it would unlikely be worth more than a cursory read.)This does not mean that I would judge that the author never runs on about any subject. She does, but sparingly. Her observations about the potential anti-Semitic presentation in the Gospel of John chapter eight would be one such example. Yet she does so from the experience of part of her heritage being Jewish, and therefore responds to John’s Gospel about certain Jews being ‘of their father the devil’ as being ultimately a general attack upon all Jews. I can appreciate her perspective, yet I still would not read it this way. And this is where my one observation of excess stops. It is from this perspective, that of a ‘Reader,’ that Mary Gordon writes this narrative, and it is from this perspective, as well, but here, I as the ‘Reader, that I found myself anticipating her next line and her chosen word by word to express each one.
The author does admit to her own prejudices as a person, a writer and reader. She is a prolific author, both fiction and non-fiction, and with both it’s her well crafted narratives that keep a reader’s attention. Her heritage is both Jewish as well as Roman Catholic, the latter of which she still affirms too and what’s given her the collective imagery of the Gospels, from hearing them read during Mass. She also admits to being a feminist and post-modernist (her evolution is clear in her other writings too), writing about both over the years. What this book does, is to take us along her journey of ‘reading, rereading, and reading,’ as she’s done with other beloved texts, but this time it’s the Gospel texts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. If you love words well placed, and narrative well crafted, you may find as I have – this is worth the read. Christian or not, Theist or not, this is a writer simply making their observations, acknowledging their own prejudices and hoping some of them will be better informed in the process.
Watch out. If you’re easily offended by observations, no matter how well written, that endeavor to be honest with what a writer sees as obvious but contradictory, this may not be for you. If you fear being converted by her writing, there is no such inclination. Again, if one needs to eliminate all antimonies, and must have all their ducks in a row, Mary Gordon’s book may not be for you. Also, she has no reservation from a passing by jab at fundamentalist religious readings as well as the claims of atheism being superior. After reading the words of Jesus to someone asked to follow him, who said, ‘Let me go and bury my father,’ to which he said to them, ‘Let the dead buy their own dead,’ she concludes: “To bury the dead might be the most pure of all ethical acts because no reciprocity is possible. I would have buried my father (of whom she loves, and expresses this in part of her story). I would not have followed Jesus. I would have known that I was right.” This is an honest response by a ‘Reader of Jesus.’ I would suggest that we all need to have such honesty in all of our reading, no matter the text, specifically when we’re reading it.
Here’s a brief reading from ‘Reading Jesus; A writer’s encounter with the Gospels,’ that may give a better context for why I read this book through to its end, and afterwards would say that I am the better for it, both for its inspiration to read and to do so honestly and to reread those books that we’ve loved, as well as it being an enjoyable read of a writer and reader:
“…When is a book not a book? When it is the Bible. But, if it’s not a book, what is it? Because after all it’s something to read. And so my method is simply a method of reading and rereading. An attempt at openness, a hope that I will be enlightened, shocked, surprised. I want to read the Gospels in a way that relates to these words of Simone Weil: “Our thought should be in relation to all particular and already formulated thoughts, as a man on a mountain, who, as he looks forward, sees also below him, without actually looking at them, a great many forests and plains. Above all our thoughts should be empty, waiting, not seeking anything, but ready to receive in its naked truth the object that is to penetrate it.” This is an impossible project, and in that it is impossible, I feel drawn to it. Though this task of adding my voice – personal, formed importantly by words – to the many voices who have spoken so many words about the words for which people have lived and died and killed and been killed.”
It is a rare thing for me to read completely through a contemporary book on anything remotely religious, and more specifically on the Gospels. They are almost always at best disappointing, and worse they're repeats of some fifty year old redaction criticism on one hand, or a positive thinking rehash on the other. Then there are those that pretend to be an exercise in comparative ancient source texts, when actually all they do is use both collections of texts as a means to tell us how they agree with the author's views. For me, all of these approaches are a waste of time, intellectually and or any other potential benefit. Mary Gordon's book, for me, was a refreshing read on all levels. Primarily it is her honesty, again, of observation, as well as her honest lack of pretense in her own approaching of the Four Gospels. She does not hide behind sweet euphemisms or metaphors, and she recognizes her prejudice along side of or over against those of others. This too is refreshing. Agree or disagree with her, I ended with being glad that I took the time to read her reading of Jesus.
a good word, timothy
posted by Timothy's at 12:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home