Ragman: And Other Cries of Faith

by Walter Wangerin Jr.

Updated with eleven new stories and meditations, this Gold Medallion–winning classic interweaves vivid stories, deep meditations, and provocative allegories that together explore the power and meaning of love within an often inhumane urban landscape. The opening chapter, "Ragman," remains one of Walter Wangerin Jr.'s most beloved works and leads the reader to thirty–three other writings, all bearing the author's trademark poignancy and lyricism. Ranging from gentle reflections to heart–rending invocations, these selections are powerful, thought–provoking explorations of the meaning of faith, the person of Christ, and the communion of believers. Again and again, Wangerin's cries of faith touch our deepest pains with rays of joyful healing.

Genres: Christian, Fiction, Theology, Religion, Short Stories, Essays, Literature

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Walter Wangerin Jr. is widely recognized as one of the most gifted writers writing today on the issues of faith and spirituality. Starting with the renowned Book of the Dun Cow, Wangerin's writing career has encompassed most every genre: fiction, essay, short story, children's story, meditation, and biblical exposition. His writing voice is immediately recognizable, and his fans number in the millions. The author of over forty books, Wangerin has won the National Book Award, New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year Award, and several Gold Medallions, including best-fiction awards for both The Book of God and Paul: A Novel. He lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he is Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University.

Reviews

[Abby Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful collection of beautiful stories. What I love about Wangerin is his ability to take something earthy and make it beautiful. Even his bad words have a ring of earthly beauty to them. He is amazing in his ability to capture the human spirit, normal life, pain, sorrow, and laughter. He is heartbreakingly honest about life.
I can't agree with him theologically, and some of these stories made me cringe on a theological level, but I still read and enjoyed them for the human aspect. I think he may be one of my favorite writers, or coming very close to being on of my favorite.

[Haley Baumeister · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful. Through the power of story and the creativity of imagery, you will be left with a greater love of Christ and of people.

I was particularly amazed at how masterfully he could find his way into the heart and thoughts of a human, to resonate with, convict, laugh with, exhort, and aim together towards following Christ.

[Daniel Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. But WW is not what I consider to be totally orthodox. The stories were peculiar and thought provoking though. The title story is best.

[Lee Bertsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was often moved by these diverse stories from the author's life and pastoral ministry. He wrings lots of spiritual truth from the events he writes about and in very compelling manner.

[Y.K. Willemse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wangerin at his best. The sacrificial stories in this book are very powerful.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish reading this book because I did not get into it. I loved The Ragman, but that was it.

[David Campton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A miscellany of short stories, some almost monologues some poetic allegories, others drawn directly from his pastoral experience. A short but worthwhile read.

[Meredith L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walter Wangerin, JR. is a versatile writer, both capable of writing fantastical stories of wonder and meditations of profound devotion, self-deprication and love. This beautiful compilation of stories, meditations and theological essays depict our human fallibility and God's all-consuming and wild love. Using parables, poems and other methods, Wangerin paints a picture of Christ's sacrifice, the church as Christ's body that suffers with Him, and the need for genuine, living faith to help a lost world.
Here are a list of my favorite stories:

Ragman: The title piece is a story set in an urban landscape. A ragman travels throughout the city crying, "New rags for old!" A profound and tear-jerking tale that brings to mind Christ's atonement for our sins.
To a Lady with Whom I've Been Intimate, Whose Name I Do NOt Know. A heartrending reflection on loneliness and the human condition.
Modern Hexameron: De Aranea. A poem about spiders and one special species of spider in particular whose life reflects Christ's depiction of Himself as "the Bread of Life" (John 6:35). Beautiful and makes me appreciate spiders a bit more.
Lily. A fable of three sisters: the industrious Bean Plant, the frivolous but beautiful Marigold, and the commonplace but kind Lily. Lily loves the Sun and has a lasting friendship with him, even though she is ridiculed and mocked by her sisters and others. However, the Sun is weakening, and a murderer is coming whose kiss will destroy all. This is a wonderful story that I plan to put on my Easter reading list. Profound tale of rebirth.
A Minister for the Nations. A reflection on the minister named Zephaniah Kometa who worked in apartheid Africa and helped his white oppressors. A tale of finding love where only hate should exist.
Moses Swope. A strange but interesting tale of finding self-worth.
The Ashes of Wednesday, for Thieves and for Preachers Alike. A tale of everyone's fallibility, including the preacher.
Edification/Demolition. Everyday provides us a choice. Will we build up our fellow man or tear him down?
The Body of Christ--Set Free! Wangerin recounts a time when several members of his congregation sang at a women's prison. A very profound and beautiful story about the power of music and God's love.

This book also includes the author's writings to his four children on the days of their confirmations and many other heartfelt reflections.
Thoroughly recommended for anyone who loves stories of faith, parables of profound truth or new ways to experience the Gospel.
God bless you all.

[Joel Cuthbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd collection. My beloved booklub attempts as best we can to spend some time journeying with the authors we decided to read. We're not a one-book club, no, we dive headlong into the minds of our authors. Usually, we're able to find a nice blend of fiction and non, and this here was our hopeful attempt to find the mind behind the complex world of the Dun Cow, which we have gone on two separate journeys with.

Those fictional books were dense but compelling, immersive and at times even harrowing and heavy. Here we have what would appear to be more of a scrapbook of short works, sermonettes, public addresses and quiet reflections. Some of it feels like short stories that might have appeared between character asides in his larger novels. Some of it felt a bit... underbaked. Almost like a publisher wanted to put together something so they asked ole Walt to dig through his notebook and put something together, that might otherwise not have appeared as such.

It has some moving passages, a few memorable exchanges. But it mostly resonates if you're also a pastor and appreciate his observances of unexpected grace. I'm looking forward to diving into the final act of his trilogy but have enjoyed more his fictional world-building than this rather scattered collection.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting collection of writings: some are poetic, some dramatic, some are heartfelt letters to specific people, some are sermon-like, and some are allegorical. I picture Wangerin sort of like a linguistic juggler: he tosses theological concepts and seemingly disjointed thoughts and words into the air, juggles them awhile, and when he’s seen everything in a new, strange juxtaposition that only a juggler can, he writes it all down. There were some pieces that made me sit back in awe and revel at the newly-gleaned perspective he’d given me on faith, or Christ, or life itself. And then, there were some pieces that, upon finishing, I just sat back and went, “HUH???”

For sure, he was a masterful writer and a creative mind. And his faith was raw and real; what an interesting life of ministry he must’ve had, having lived through Seminex, and coming out on the other side into a completely different Lutheran synod than the one in which he began his training. I’m looking forward to reading his Dun Cow series soon… can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about. And… time will tell which of the above two reactions the series will inspire in me!

[Anton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welp, this one made me cry several times. Excellent book, sincerely and tenderly written, challenging to pursue our faith and trust the Lord more, and deep comfort for all those who walk on this narrow road. I could quote this a lot, but each story is self-contained, thus a quote would be several pages long. Highly recommended for gentle hearts, I think you'll find a lot echoed from your own experiences with God.

[Annalise Nakoneczny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea what to expect from this, but every bit of it was holy and gorgeous. Wangerin reveals God in the city (which was poignant because I just moved to a city). His stories are humble and compassionate, full of truth and beauty in all things. Ragman is a classic, but the rest of these short stories are equally stunning. The Christian attitude in these is humble, not proudly teaching but seeking to learn from every situation. It's beautiful.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first section was my absolute favorite, made me cry multiple times with the visuals and the stories of Jesus within our world.

I won't lie, the theology gets a little weird at certain places, but as I continue to remember this book is more poetic and story than full theology and such, it truly is beautiful! Full of the broken, the difficult, the hard, and many testimonies of how God works purposefully through it all.

I enjoyed it 😊

[Mark]

An absolute treasure. I'll need to pick up my own copy now.

[Sue Zelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A potpourri of pleasures, these essays and short pieces. Wangerin is honest, candid, humble, and a wordsmith par excellence. He holds out to the reader a hand of amazing stories in this collection.

[Becky Pilcher]

I could not finish this book. It was not my type of book to read. I couldn’t get into it.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t what I expected when I started. Somehow I thought it was a novel, so I think most of my disappointment comes from my misunderstanding. The essays and sermons were interesting, however.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories of faith touched my heart in a way few like them have. I savored each one, slowly letting the love fill me. Fantastic!

[Erik Britt-Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a huge impact on me in high school. Very inspirational and thought provoking.

[Norman Porath]

Wangerin’s trilogy, Ragman, Miss Lil, and The Manger is Empty are marvelous descriptions of his childhood, and also his marriage, and his children (two biological and two adopted).

[Killer Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.67 overall rating. Very interesting. Liked short story titled Lily

[Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, another book that I had misjudged. I thought this was a book of Jewish faith stories. You know, stories to illustrate faith in action. Instead this is a Christian author who is writing about his life...granted it is faith in action messages and stories. Interesting...and passed on to a friend.

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, memoirs, essays, poetry, drama. Most are very profound. Wangerin has a way of turning every experience in his life into a story for teaching something. Some of the best entries are: Ragman, a parable about Christ; Lily, a kind of ugly duckling story that turns out to be about death; Moses Swope, a children's story about learning to believe positive things about yourself instead of negative; The Time in the City, a commencement address to seminarians advising them to learn the language of the "city" where they will work, and earn their right to be heard there; Fights Unfought, Forgiveness Forgone, about how God gives us the opportunities for reconciliation that we must be sure not to miss; Edification/Demolition, about how we have the power to build up or tear down other people by our attitude around them. There's also a liturgical drama of the Passion story, called The Cry of the Whole Congregation. There's a little of pretty much every Wangerin genre in this book, so it's good introduction to him. It was in fact my first exposure to him, some ten years ago, and this was a reread for me. Well worth rereading.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter Wangerin's reflections of Christ, the church, humanity through these stories are truly thought provoking - breathing new life into faith. They provide an example to all of us of how we can serve others and speak God's Word through stories.

from "Edification/Demolition"

You say: "But how can I serve the Lord? I'm not important. What I do is so common and of little consequence. Anyone can do what I do."
. . .
And I way to you: " There are no useless, minor meetings. There are no dead-end jobs. There are no pointless lives. Swallow your sorrows, forget your grievances and all the hurt your poor life has sustained. Turn your face truly to the human before you and let her, for one pure moment, shine. Think her important, and then she will suspect that she is fashioned of God."

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter Wangerin Jr.'s writing is hard to describe. His style and subject matter are distinct--hard, discordant, cutting, clear, and brimming with tough honesty and love. It's easy to see, now, after reading the strange, violent, wild fable that is The Book of the Dun Cow - an unforgettable story about at group of farm animals who battle Satan himself, written in 1979.

These short meditations on his inner-city ministry, faith in action, and ragged experiences will deepen the thoughts of any Christian.

My favorite story by far was "The Ragman" in its simplicity, stark images, and power. I'd read a version of this story online before, and was delighted to find an author.

Though you tread lightly in Wangerin's stories; they will leave deep footprints in you.

[Longfellow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up randomly at a discount bookstore. "Ragman" hit me hard, but when I started telling folks about it, I discovered it's a story that has already spread through much of the Christian community. Melodramatic, but a beautiful allegory of Christ's sacrifice. Like The Giving Tree only with a resurrection.

Many of the other short selections also had a profound, emotional, or epiphanic effect on me. I will definitely read more of this guy.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are so engaging and I feel like I have actually met the people in this book. This pastor has the heart of a servant to the people he was called to pastor (in and outside his church)...as a pastor's wife, myself, my heart was broken and healed a number of times through the reading of this book.

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vignettes and other short pieces by pastor, theologian and poet Walter Wangerin which have the strengths and weaknesses of his various roles. For a Lutheran Walter is a "let it all hang out" kinda guy, making some of these move you to tears and some just make you squirm -- not in a good way. (After all, I'm Lutheran too).

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a bit to finish this book. I had to read it slowly and digest these short narratives. Some I could instantly make a connection with and understand his ideas and others left me a little confused.

Overall, for a free book I picked up it was spiritually enriching. His writing style is definitely unique.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this collection of essays and short stories. The author's style was a bit too dreamy (flakey?) and I was put off by what seemed to me heavy-handed attempts at pulling on heart-strings.