The Power and the Glory

It's impossible to start writing about books that Christians need to read without starting with Graham Greene's brilliant novel The Power and the Glory. It just doesn't get any better than this! In a fairly short novel, Greene was able to write a fictionalized realization of lived-out Latin American liberation theology.

Ranking
To rank this book on our current scale (Oseen - Lucado - Colson - Yancey - Lewis - Brueggemann - Moltmann), I would put Greene's theological thinking with Brueggemann's, although it is fictional rather than theological, which makes it difficult to rank in our current scheme. Alas, we start where we start. I guess you can just call it some good old fashioned narrative liberation theology and be done with it. And it is brilliant.

A Brief Summary
To be brief, The Power and the Glory is the story of a priest in a communist territory in Mexico, who refuses to leave, though it would mean his life. Every other priest has either fled, gotten married, or been killed. He doesn't like any of these options, though he ends up embodying all of them. The priest travels from town to town, delivering the sacraments and hating himself for being a drunken coward. It is the story of a true-life saint, a man who is weak and meek, and totally unable to realize that what he is doing is important both theologically and politically, and that every time he hears confession and provides the sacraments, he is turning the power of the state on its head.

Who should read this?
I think pastors or anybody who believes in the priesthood of all believers should read this, and be reminded of what it is that we are doing and how God uses the weak and pitiful to work in his kingdom. While this poor, pathetic priest does the work God has called him to, his former colleagues sit on comfy couches, getting fat and talking theology. If I ran a seminary, this book would be required reading. Also, anybody who just likes a good story will enjoy Greene's work.

Buy it. Read it. Then read it again.