The Best Book Ever Written

I wrote that title, then realized that this is the typical spot where a throw in my shocking cliched Christian answer: the Bible. Of course, the Bible is a collection of numerous books, so I can get out of that conundrum, because seriously, who wants to choose which books are good and which are less than good (although seriously, Proverbs needs to go, and nobody would even notice if Song of Songs, Jude, Philemon, 2 Peter or 3 Peter were even gone). But I digress.

The best book ever written is The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. It is a painfully beautiful piece of literature that I just started rereading, as I have vowed to read it once per year for the rest of my days.

Why is it so great? If you've never read it, P & G is the story of a "whiskey priest" in a communist state in Mexico. He is a pitiful, pathetic, drunken priest riding a donkey through the swamps and forests of Mexico, trying to keep ahead of the police and military, whose only desire is to murder him. He sees himself as useless, a damned soul providing sacraments for the people. The villagers love him, as he is the only priest left (all the others have been killed, ran away, or renounced the priesthood).

I love this book because to me it displays more truth about the psyche of a priest (or pastor) than any other book I have ever read. Or at least it does for me as a youth pastor. Most days you feel 100% unworthy of your calling to the point of despair. Typically you feel like more of a burden than a help. Watching the despair of the people makes you want to vomit as you realize just how little you have to offer and even worse, know that they are beginning to realize the same thing.

With all of this going on within Greene's rather short book, he leaves you feeling like you have just witnessed the true birth of a saint. His small deeds produce miracles. And his sad life is in fact the greatest miracle of all. Read this book, then read it again, especially if you are in ministry (thanks, Brown Kid, for buying it for me originally)!

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: I just told you! But last night I did watch Jarhead for the first time. Honestly, it was disturbing. I feel a frustrated about so much in this world and that didn't help. Nor did Bush's speech, which was full of his typical rhetoric: how can you answer a question about why we chose to go to war by referring to 9/11? Everybody knows that's not why (although 85% of US soldiers polled believe we went to war with Iraq because of Saddam's role in the 9/11 catastrophe). Also, hearing that congress will be balancing the budget by cutting cancer research out, rather than just the poor, elderly, and aliens among us didn't help. No wonder nobody believes in God in our country; our Republican government was voted in on the shoulders of US "believers" to usher in this version of the Kingdom, where the Bible is boiled down to making the rich richer and telling everybody else to shove off. I am not proud to be an American.

That was a long side-comment. Apologies.