Jesus
of Nazareth by Joseph Ratzinger,Pope Benedict XVI, Hardcover, 374 pp.
This
book is
my personal search for the face of the Lord.
Benedict XVI
In
this bold, momentous work, the popein his first book written as
Benedict XVIseeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent
popular depictions and to restore Jesus true identity as
discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and
his personal conviction as a believer, the pope shares a rich,
compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and incites us to
encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.
From
Jesus of Nazareth
the great question that will be with us
throughout this entire book: But what has Jesus really brought, then,
if he has not brought world peace, universal prosperity, and a better
world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has
brought God! He has brought the God who once gradually unveiled his
countenance first to Abraham, then to Moses and the prophets, and
then in the wisdom literaturethe God who showed his face only in
Israel, even though he was also honored among the pagans in various
shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of
Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth.
He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon
him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this
world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about where we
are going and where we come from: faith, hope, and love.