Norma L. Brumbaugh

Joshua: A Parable for Today is a national bestseller. A friend loaned me a copy few years ago, and I dove in. This is an uncomplicated book with a powerful message. Girzone, a retired catholic priest, wrote this book in 1983 and had it self-published, then he sold copies from out of the trunk of his car. The book eventually became a success. People were drawn to the character, Joshua, and his acts of kindness and loving ways. The book is written simply. Its unsophisticated language is not for everybody. But I like it. Joshua is a contemporary. It is as if Jesus should appear and walk the streets, in the 1980s,  during the year  in which this modern day parable was written.  He is a woodcarver who stirs things up in the church with his unconventional views and actions. The townspeople are curious, some in the religious community are wary. It seems that Girzone, through this book, wants to awaken the church to its unbending religiosity which gets in the way of being the hands and feet of Jesus. As with any book which has a spiritual base, you will either agree with the author’s premise or not. It challenged me in some areas, and its portrayal is intriguing. The strength in this book is its look at Joshua’s love and person-hood. It has limited action but the many dialogues, sermonettes, are worth the read if you like to think about spiritual concepts. My Book Dinner ladies enjoyed reading Joshua: A Parable for Today.