This Earthly Pilgrimage: Tales and Observations on the Way

By Walter Wangerin Jr.

Book Overview

A collection of author's new and vintage works considers such topics as the meaning of faith and the persons of Christ. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310249708
• ISBN13: 9780310249702
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Length: 640 Pages
• Weight: 1.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.7" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

One of the best modern Christian story-tellers I've read.

In, "This Earthly Pilgrimage," Wangerin weaves together three books of his, "Ragman, and other Cries of Faith," "Little Lamb, Who Made Thee," and "Miss Lil and the Chronicles of Grace." and combines it into a chronicle of his life, his Christian practice as a believer and as a Lutheran Minister, and the many beautiful stories that come from his service to his parishioners and the many lessons they taught him. There will be a few spoilers within the rest of this review, though I will try not to give too much away. This is no holier than thou up above the trenches view of Christianity, this view of Christianity is that from one who has rolled up his sleeves and gotten down to dig in the dirt with the rest of us. Nor is this an attempt to polish over sins and hurts that he caused other people. This is the work of a preacher who has both seen the angels minister to a dying woman through the ministrations of her sisters, to a preacher while waiting on a stormy night with a confirmation student, heard a break-in to his church, found himself yelling to a thief trying to break into his church not ever to come back again and how the child pointed out to him the horrifying ramifications of the words he had spoken in his haste and anger. This is the work of a minister who was given the most beautiful words of healing for an abuse victim in the form of a letter, and that child asked him to share that letter, so that as many abuse victims as possible could see it. They are powerful words and that letter alone justifies the purchase of this book. Wangerin uses stories, poems, personal experiences, and all of his wit, intelligence, imperfection, and compassion to create a stunning whole of Christian life in all of its paradoxical elements of sin, redemption, just exactly who teaches who and who ministers to who, love, grief, suffering, death, and the resurrection not just in the afterlife, but in this life that the Christian body can bring to each other. Wangerin,for the most part, uses a very conversational tone, as if he were sitting with you in your home, or telling these stories to your congregation at church. Throughout this interweaving, don't expect strictly divided stories, as if you were buying a book of short fiction, but instead consider this a woven tapestry, or even better, the Greek reference Wangerin makes in his introduction which I will not spoil for you here. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but I especially recommend it to anyone who might be trying to discern whether they have a call to ministry, or indeed, anyone who is already undertaking seminary study. This is a very candid demonstration of his unfolding understanding and practice of what ministry means and how to practice it to the best of one's ability. This is a great read and highly worthwhile to Christians, and those seeking a greater understanding of what it means to be a Christian and to practice the faith. For those who have trouble with, or do not care f