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Summary: An Awe-Inspiring Spiritual Journey in the Steps of Jesus
Review: When I decided to read this book, all I could remember about Jesus' life in Egypt was summed up by Matthew 2:13: "Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." It turns out that this is only one of two passages in the New Testament that refer to Jesus spending time in Egypt. The other is when Joseph is called to return to Palestine.According to the New Testament, Herod feared Jesus after meeting the three magi and decided to kill all of the young children to avoid having a challenger for his throne. Fascinated by that story, author Paul Perry found himself in Egypt working on another project. He decided to visit all of the sites where Jesus is supposed to have passed. In doing so, he sought to bring both his perspective as a Western journalist and as a believer. Over the course of two trips, he was able to follow this ambition. Jesus in Egypt is the story of his travels and what he learned. There are many unexpected aspects to the story. First, if you are like me, you don't know much about Coptic Christians and their lives in Egypt. This book will tell you much. A major source of inspiration for these Christians comes from the heritage of Jesus' travels in Egypt. Although they comprise only about 5 percent of the Egyptian population, they feel especially blessed by these historical sites. You will meet many of them, both clergy and laity, as they describe their faith. As Egyptians, they experience their religion differently than many people do in the United States . . . drawing great strength from oral traditions that may date as far back as the time of Jesus. Second, the Bible is almost silent about Jesus as a child. What was He like? What did He experience? The various sources (texts that were excluded from the Bible, oral tradition, visions and dreams) reveal wondrous tales that many will find inspirational. Water was drawn from the sand. Wells rose mysteriously to the top. Idols were toppled all around. Spiders and trees dropped down to hide the Holy Family. Dangerous animals left the Holy Family alone. Third, many of these sites have large impacts on the believers today. In one location, an apparition of the Virgin Mary is shown photographed amid mysterious lights on the domed church of Zeitoun. Other sightings of the Virgin have been seen in recent years and have had profound impact on those who have viewed Her. In addition, many miracles have followed in some of the sites . . . often from drinking the water in wells that are attributed to the hand of Jesus. Fourth, Mr. Perry asked those he met what they thought about Jesus in Egypt. When is a dream a dream, and when is it a message from God? Without archeological evidence, how can we know what the Holy Family did? When is a medical miracle a miracle, and when is it a reaction to a placebo? Can oral traditions be trusted? How? In the course of thinking about these answers, you will probably (like me) find yourself finding new pathways to increasing your faith. That's a wonderful gift! Fifth, Mr. Perry describes the effects of faith on the Egyptian people. Theirs often seems to be a purer, deeper and more powerful faith than we usually observe in the United States. Simple aspects of experiencing faith can bring them enormous joy, even amid great poverty and problems. Learning about those dimensions made me interested in deepening my faith. Sixth, Mr. Perry describes contemporary relations between Muslim and Christian Egyptians that is far more peaceful than one would imagine from our rhetoric about fundamentalist terror threatening non-Muslims from all sides. As an American, he found himself welcome almost everywhere . . . even though the security police felt like he needed an armed escort when he went into the areas where the deepest Muslim fundamentalists live. He also found himself learning to trust Egyptians of all faiths as people of good will. I won't reveal more about the book because it would spoil nice surprises for you, but there is a remarkable ending experience that Mr. Perry had which underscores the whole message of following the steps of Jesus to find Him. Interestingly, the day before I found this book, I found myself praying that I could find ways to more closely follow the path of Jesus. Perhaps the book is the literal answer to that prayer. I tend to believe that to be true. May God bless you!
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