Average Joe: With an Extraordinary Story

Meet a man who, while a child, sees his mother bake bread every day from flour and oil jars that never run out. Read and find another man who contracts leprosy and reluctantly dips into the river seven times and finds himself suddenly cured. Climb up in a tree with a guy who was so short it was the only way he could see past the crowd to this man some called the Messiah. Then we read about the guy...This book is a work of Biblical stories. The central character of each story is not someone great. These ten characters are average Joe working stiff who happened to live during the Biblical era. Except for the time period they lived, these characters were not much different from you and me. But, in each case, something extraordinary happened that gave them a really great story to tell. Can you imagine telling a group of people about the day you took a trip and your donkey started talking to you? It was an extraordinary story.In many ways, this book is also a work of Biblical fiction. It isn't that the stories are untrue. In each case, you are reading about a real character of the Bible. Much like historical fiction has its roots in history, the same is true for this book. Its roots are in the Bible. What is fiction are some of the details. Some details come from the traditions of the Church. Others have legend standing behind them. And, still, others come fully from the mind of the author. Obedasher is probably not the name of the son of the Widow of Zarephath. The name itself was a creation of the author.Throughout the book, the author strives to faithfully tell the story, but also tries to tell the story as he sees it play out in his mind. How would Zacchaeus go about giving half his wealth to the poor? The Bible is quiet. The story in the book is not quiet.Nothing here says this is how things played out. Instead, it is one idea of how these stories might have played out long ago. Open your mind to the story and watch it play out. How is your understanding different from the understanding of the author. Who knows, in the details, you might be right. Or, what played out in the mind of the author could be a reality. As he imagined, and he wrote, the story playing itself out was filled with possibilities.Each chapter of the book began its life as a sermon done in the first person. The author wrote these messages, dressed in costume and delivered them to his congregation as if the character was telling his story to the congregation. The pages of the book carry on that tradition.