Natalia Fiore’s Reviews > Jesus: A Pilgrimage – A New York Times Bestselling Meditation on Christ, Scripture, and Faith in the Holy Land > Status Update

“Not til Jesus speaks her name does Mary know him. She knew that distinctive voice with the Nazarene accent — the voice that called her into wholeness when it expelled whatever demons troubled her, that welcomed her into his circle of friends, that told her she was valued in the eyes of God — because it was a voice that had spoken to her in love. Because sometimes seeing is not believing. Loving is.” (p 406)

Jesus felt abandoned. This isn’t to say that he despaired. But it’s not unreasonable to imagine his feeling as if the Father were absent. Having faced the betrayal of his closest friends, brutalized by Roman guards, marched through the streets under a crushing weight, and nailed to a cross, Jesus could be forgiven for feeling abandoned. He who has abandoned himself to God’s will now wonders ‘Where are you?’

“The most difficult thing may be the crushing inevitability. You want to escape from your life which suddenly feels like an oncoming train about to run you down. It’s the shock you feel when you receive a frightening diagnosis. When you’re laid off from a job. When a friend or family member dies. When a relationship ends. You say to yourself, ‘This cannot be happening.’ (Gethsamane, p. 364)

“…In John’s Gospel, the foot washing is more about the mutual service of friendship, a mutual sharing of gifts that in no way implies any sort of domination. The message is not that the master has become the slave, but that all are on the same level. After Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet, he challenges them to do the same for each other and to see that all are equal friends in the kingdom…” (p. 348)

“Beside her brother’s tomb, she is blunt. Martha can be seen as a female counterpart to Peter: a strong, impetuous, outspoken friend of Jesus who believes even as she feels free to question. The memories of her retained in the Gospels are so vivid that she likely was a formidable figure in the early church. Martha’s fierce honesty also reminds us that Jesus included strong women among his circle of friends.”

Many of us live in fear of being seen as uncool, foolish, gullible, and consequently rejected. But why not be foolish for Christ? You could be foolish about humility and refuse to seek acclaim in a culture that prizes it. You could be foolish about your relationship to God and set aside time for prayer in a society that prizes nothing more than activity. You could do all this even though people disdain you. (p. 309)

“The paralytic lying by the pool might have been living in a passive and dull despair. He wanted to be healed, though he did not see how he ever could be since he had no one to help him. The first essential step toward receiving the power of Jesus is to have intense desire for it. If in our inmost hearts we are well content to stay as we are, there can be no change for us.” (Ch 16 “Bethesda,” p. 287)

“We also may feel that our efforts are inadequate. We try to help our family and friends, but nothing seems to work. We try to seek forgiveness, but others are still resentful. We try to love, but it doesn’t seem enough. But Jesus accepts what we give, blesses it, breaks it open, and magnifies it. Often in ways that we don’t see or cannot see. Or will not be able to see in this lifetime.” (Ch. 15, p. 269)

“For the readers of Mark’s Gospel — who were both Jewish and Gentile Christians — the tale of Jesus’s first interaction in pagan lands would have been an especially important lesson. And for the next generation of Christians, the story would have been used as a reminder of Jesus’s outreach to those in non-Jewish communities. His power has no boundaries. Neither does his love.” (Ch. 14, p. 246)

“Everyone faces stormy times when God’s presence is hard to perceive. One of the most common struggles in the spiritual life is a feeling of God’s absence during painful times. Even some of the saints report this. Why? Because when we are struggling, we tend to focus on the area of pain. It’s natural, but it makes it more difficult to see where God might be at work in other places, where God is not asleep.”