Just Listen to What He’s Saying

Harsh. Testy. Uncompromising. These aren't words typically associated with Jesus, but Christian scholar Phyllis Tickle, a former religion editor of Publishers Weekly, says they often came to mind as she wrote her new book, "The Words of Jesus." The book, which arrives in stores next week, plucks Jesus' words out of the Gospels and Acts, leaving them to stand alone without the context of his actions. "His words come as a shock," says Tickle. "Readers will get a Jesus they never saw before." He is, of course, still the warm and compassionate man who said "Father, forgive them" and "Love one another." But when it comes to his mission, Jesus doesn't mince words. "Anyone who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me," he told his apostles. Tickle believes Christians err when they "domesticate Jesus," because they lose a sense of his power and the urgency of his message. "Obviously, he has an enormous amount of love," says Tickle. "But it is the love of a parent who knows the rules and who isn't going to soften the blow." Jesus was anxious to be understood. He asked Philip, an apostle, "Have I been so long a time among you … and still you do not know me?" It's a question that Tickle's book helps us answer today.