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Joshua #6
Joshua: The Homecoming
The countdown to the year 2000 affected people in different ways -- some were curious, others anxious, and still others panicked. Amid this atmosphere of uncertainty, a quiet solitary man comes again to the tiny town of Auburn. This carpenter, known as Joshua, first arrived nearly two decades earlier and transformed everyone with his words of peace and actions of love. However, in the years since he left, many of his friends have died and a generation has grown up not knowing him. Now, with the new millenium on the horizon, Joshua reassures everyone by reminding them of the lessons he left them with years before. He explains that God is love, not some monster waiting for people to make one false move and then punish them. But when an immense earthquake strikes just before the new year, and other "signs of the apocalypse" seem to abound, Joshua realizes that his wisdom much reach beyond this small town in order to help people throughout the rest of the world.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Joseph F. Girzone
65 books110 followersFROM PUBLISHER:
JOSEPH F. GIRZONE retired from the active priesthood in 1981 due to health reasons, and embarked on a second career as a writer and speaker.
In 1995 he established the Joshua Foundation, an organization dedicated to making Jesus better known throughout the world.
His bestselling books include Joshua, A Portrait of Jesus, and Never Alone. He lives in Altamont, New York.
JOSEPH F. GIRZONE retired from the active priesthood in 1981 due to health reasons, and embarked on a second career as a writer and speaker.
In 1995 he established the Joshua Foundation, an organization dedicated to making Jesus better known throughout the world.
His bestselling books include Joshua, A Portrait of Jesus, and Never Alone. He lives in Altamont, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
October 1, 2019
I did enjoy this book, it is a refreshing read. Joshua (really Jesus) goes from town to town, meeting and interacting with different families and fixing what is wrong in their lives. Sometimes healing, sometimes teaching but always leaves the people better than how he found them. It is simply written and can be redundant at times but I really liked it.
May 25, 2021
I previously read and greatly enjoyed Josech Girzione's non-fiction A Portrait of Jesus and appreciated his pointing us to greater focus on Jesus and developing a relationship with him. Much of this book had the same emphasis.
However, I was quite disturbed by one place where the author urges protestants to throw away their faith based on the Bible and replace it with complete reliance on the authority of the traditions of the Catholic Church. I debated giving the book a higher rating for the rest but decided I could not do so.
However, I was quite disturbed by one place where the author urges protestants to throw away their faith based on the Bible and replace it with complete reliance on the authority of the traditions of the Catholic Church. I debated giving the book a higher rating for the rest but decided I could not do so.
March 5, 2017
In the Joshua series, Jesus (in the person of Joshua, a woodworker and traveler) returns to the world, interacting with people. This particular volume was published in 1999, and dealt in part with peoples' reactions to the upcoming millenium. Though much has happened since then, the book still contains plenty of inspirational material worth thinking about.
November 7, 2023
I purchased the audio version of this book and was so disappointed when I heard the author's excerpt on the Bible. The author talks as if the Word of God is just another book; Jesus IS the Word of God in the flesh and He cannot be separated from that which He is. This world has such a small percentage of people who say they believe and hold a Biblical worldview, which makes me realize what God means when He says that many are called, few chosen. This book only serves to increase the number of those who do not believe Scripture is God-breathed. We have been gifted the indwelling Spirit of God to discern the truth for us and we have been given Jesus as the living written Word of God to guide us as well...what a blessing. To have someone, who says they believe, cherry pic from Scripture as if it is just another book is truly disheartening. Jesus quoted from Scripture during His lifetime all the time. Are we to believe the Gospel according to man? This book has truth mixed with lies and, like a glass of water that has a drop of poison added to it becomes fully poisonous, so too does writings such as this.
March 5, 2018
This was truly a great find in one of the non-profit stores. Joshua (a.k.Jesus) is concerned about the fears many of the people during the period of time (1999) with the upcoming thoughts that the end of the world was going to happen during the upcoming millennium was preached by many leaders I love how Joshua while visiting some of these places was able to put many of the people’s fears in prospective resulting in many families leaving these rigid groups who were brainwashing their frighten member
December 29, 2018
20 years later. Joshua returns to small town of Auburn. A lot of his friends from 20 years ago I had passed away but there are still some there. Joshua has more to do. He moves on to another town and helps more people. Then leaves that town and moves on to help even others avoid a calamity. I will not give any spoilers but this time he saves many more people and shows at once again what if Jesus walked among us today. A story of faith and hope. If you like stories about faith hope and possibility then you will like this story.
Check it out
Check it out
February 21, 2021
Joseph Girzone's JOSHUA the HOMECOMING ia a prophetic, reassuring series of narratives involving human relationships and our Savior, Joshua. It is a fictionalized, heartfelt novel of storytelling and contemplations with modern day reenactments from scripture. There are nine books in the series, striving for unity in faith centered around Jesus. Well worth reading and used for meditation by all Christians.
January 14, 2019
God does not create evil people. People do evil things because of the pain and inner torture they have experienced in life. Not everyone has the strength of character to rise above the meanness and injustice and lack of love in their life. In their unresolved anger, which turns to hatred, they do evil things.
July 18, 2019
At the end of this book I said, "I'm not sure all of the theology in this book is accurate, but it sure sounds good!" This allegorical novel left me more in love with Jesus and wanting to reread the Gospels again. I'd say that's a good sign.
At times it dragged on and a lot of the book was dialogue, but somehow I was always wanting to know what would happen next. A fun summer read!
At times it dragged on and a lot of the book was dialogue, but somehow I was always wanting to know what would happen next. A fun summer read!
January 14, 2020
In the year 2000 Joshua travels across the US, calming people's misgivings about the end of the world. When he reaches San Francisco, he works to warn them of an impending disaster. In this book Girzone's character reveals his true nature to those he visits, unlike in some of the other books in the series.
September 22, 2018
Father Girzone evidently wrote this book to fight the millenium end-of-the-world frenzy in 1999-2000. He also pushes the idea of Apostolic succession of the Pope being the only true way for the church.
April 9, 2024
Really interesting story and very relatable to current times though over 25 years old. I don't agree with Joseph F. Girzone's theological perspective in many ways but still enjoy the solid faith that is displayed in his books.
July 10, 2017
I did enjoy this story, it would be amazing to sit down with Jesus in person. The writing was stiff and somewhat mechanical, but the story was still highly enjoyable.
July 29, 2017
Started out a little slow and like a grade school level book about Jesus but quickly turned into a beautiful story about Jesus walking among us on Earth and a lesson in humanity.
October 19, 2023
I usually enjoy these books, but this one left me disappointed... I think it is because it tried to cover so many topics, it didn't really get to any depth...
July 22, 2013
Joshua: The Homecoming is a book written by Joseph Girzone. It's simple to read. The message is simple. And, for at least half of the book, I thought it was pretty darn good. It's interesting to me to see how I judge what makes a good book. The half that I liked is the half that does not deviate from my own personal philosophies.
This is a book about Jesus. Jesus is the main character. It takes place in the year 1999. The millennium is approaching quickly and everybody is scared. And Joshua, in the few weeks of the book apparently, lives a life that almost mirrors the story found in the gospels. There are miracles. A boy's tattered coat turns into a new one. A little boy is healed. Deaf can hear. Fisherman bring in a ton of shrimp where their fish detectors find nothing.
In this book, this is exactly what Girzone tells us through most of it. The miracles were done not to promote Jesus' upcoming book, but to help people because he loved them. I can buy that. That's just not how the gospel reads to me. But, as Girzone says in his book, Jesus didn't give us a book but only gave us love.
I think Girzone makes the same mistake in his book that most of Christianity does. Through the gospels, especially the gospel of John, Jesus becomes more and more mystical. Or at least that's how it has long been interpreted by most of Christendom. It gets to a point where many people believe Jesus is God.
And he is, I suppose, but not any more than you or I. I like to remember years ago when I first started working on cars. We would rip apart old dinosaurs, be they Imperials or New Yorkers or Newports, and then cram the contents of the engine bay into something smaller like a Coronet, Satellite, or once even a Duster. It was hard work, but we knew the result would be fantastic. Many knuckles were scraped. Many drops of sweat were dropped. All of this went into that car so much that that car was part of us. Sometimes it wasn't as great as we thought in the end, but we still loved it.
And that's what we are. We are inanimate vessels in which we have drops of God's blood and sweat. Jesus was a much grander piece of God's creation than you or I, so much that he had the faith to walk on water and heal the sick. But he told us that all we needed was the faith of a mustard seed and we could do these things. And maybe that's all he had. He just wanted the same for us. And the first step is love.
And so I can tell you that yes, Jesus was God. And you're God. And I'm God. Because we are all God insomuch as we are part of God's creation. Before God, there was nothing. There is nothing except for what sprang from his loins, or hands, or toes, or whatever. God has no toes or loins or hands except for the ones that are on us. And that's why he created us. Because loins and hands and toes are pretty cool things.
But you can't tell me, as Girzone attempts in his book, that Jesus, on earth, would have ever referred to himself as God. The idea is that throughout the book, and hence the gospel, Jesus slowly reveals himself. He is being sneaky because... Because what? There is no because. You could say things like he would not be accepted were he up-front right away, but that's silly because if Jesus were God, he could make people believe whatever he wished. God is all powerful. Jesus became more and more spiritual throughout his ministry and his life. That's why the gospel reads as it does. As we grow in our spirituality, we approach the oneness with God that Jesus attained.
Jesus was a man. His goal was to teach. Through his teachings, he saves us if we choose to listen and if that happens to be what we need. Even if we try, we have a hard time understanding. To me, one of the most important aspects of this book is how Girzone emphasizes that the church can be wrong. If we live simply, with love for our neighbors and enemies, and take the time to listen to what God has to say, we are just as salvageable through Jesus as any of the theologians and priests. And we will live a good life. A happy life. A content life. The life of a child. What comes after is important, but as humans we don't know exactly what it is. We can be assured, because God is good, that what comes after is good.
It's a good book. It ought to be read. Joshua: The Homecoming. Joseph Girzone.
This is a book about Jesus. Jesus is the main character. It takes place in the year 1999. The millennium is approaching quickly and everybody is scared. And Joshua, in the few weeks of the book apparently, lives a life that almost mirrors the story found in the gospels. There are miracles. A boy's tattered coat turns into a new one. A little boy is healed. Deaf can hear. Fisherman bring in a ton of shrimp where their fish detectors find nothing.
In this book, this is exactly what Girzone tells us through most of it. The miracles were done not to promote Jesus' upcoming book, but to help people because he loved them. I can buy that. That's just not how the gospel reads to me. But, as Girzone says in his book, Jesus didn't give us a book but only gave us love.
I think Girzone makes the same mistake in his book that most of Christianity does. Through the gospels, especially the gospel of John, Jesus becomes more and more mystical. Or at least that's how it has long been interpreted by most of Christendom. It gets to a point where many people believe Jesus is God.
And he is, I suppose, but not any more than you or I. I like to remember years ago when I first started working on cars. We would rip apart old dinosaurs, be they Imperials or New Yorkers or Newports, and then cram the contents of the engine bay into something smaller like a Coronet, Satellite, or once even a Duster. It was hard work, but we knew the result would be fantastic. Many knuckles were scraped. Many drops of sweat were dropped. All of this went into that car so much that that car was part of us. Sometimes it wasn't as great as we thought in the end, but we still loved it.
And that's what we are. We are inanimate vessels in which we have drops of God's blood and sweat. Jesus was a much grander piece of God's creation than you or I, so much that he had the faith to walk on water and heal the sick. But he told us that all we needed was the faith of a mustard seed and we could do these things. And maybe that's all he had. He just wanted the same for us. And the first step is love.
And so I can tell you that yes, Jesus was God. And you're God. And I'm God. Because we are all God insomuch as we are part of God's creation. Before God, there was nothing. There is nothing except for what sprang from his loins, or hands, or toes, or whatever. God has no toes or loins or hands except for the ones that are on us. And that's why he created us. Because loins and hands and toes are pretty cool things.
But you can't tell me, as Girzone attempts in his book, that Jesus, on earth, would have ever referred to himself as God. The idea is that throughout the book, and hence the gospel, Jesus slowly reveals himself. He is being sneaky because... Because what? There is no because. You could say things like he would not be accepted were he up-front right away, but that's silly because if Jesus were God, he could make people believe whatever he wished. God is all powerful. Jesus became more and more spiritual throughout his ministry and his life. That's why the gospel reads as it does. As we grow in our spirituality, we approach the oneness with God that Jesus attained.
Jesus was a man. His goal was to teach. Through his teachings, he saves us if we choose to listen and if that happens to be what we need. Even if we try, we have a hard time understanding. To me, one of the most important aspects of this book is how Girzone emphasizes that the church can be wrong. If we live simply, with love for our neighbors and enemies, and take the time to listen to what God has to say, we are just as salvageable through Jesus as any of the theologians and priests. And we will live a good life. A happy life. A content life. The life of a child. What comes after is important, but as humans we don't know exactly what it is. We can be assured, because God is good, that what comes after is good.
It's a good book. It ought to be read. Joshua: The Homecoming. Joseph Girzone.
August 5, 2013
I watched the movie of this first book and was very drawn in by it. It seemed very neat. So I wanted to read this as it dealt with some of the left behind theology stuff as well. It seemed good at first, however there were too many plot lines, characters and different stories to tell. Each time Joshua moved to another city could have been a completely different book almost.
The author did not do as good a job of telling a story at certain points when you know he was simply trying to get his point across. The content of what the author has to say is amazing. But it took alot to get me there.
The author did not do as good a job of telling a story at certain points when you know he was simply trying to get his point across. The content of what the author has to say is amazing. But it took alot to get me there.
December 28, 2020
“The countdown to the year 2000 affected people in different ways -- some were curious, others anxious, and still others panicked. Amid this atmosphere of uncertainty, a quiet solitary man comes again to the tiny town of Auburn. This carpenter, known as Joshua, first arrived nearly two decades earlier and transformed everyone with his words of peace and actions of love.”
A feel good book especially if you’re losing faith in humanity. Although the story is about Jesus, there are some nice characters in the book who show kindness and empathy for others.
The downside for me is the very simplistic writing. I had to consciously not pay attention to the style of writing.
A feel good book especially if you’re losing faith in humanity. Although the story is about Jesus, there are some nice characters in the book who show kindness and empathy for others.
The downside for me is the very simplistic writing. I had to consciously not pay attention to the style of writing.
November 13, 2012
In this book, Joshua (a.k.a. Jesus) wanders around America in the year 1999, comforting people who fear that the world is going to end. Much more anecdotal than other entries in this series, I liked how the author had Jesus just popping in and out of places, doing what he needed to do, helping those he could, and pitying those he could not. I like these books a great deal. The writing is very simple but the stories are moving. Total manna for a Jesus hippy like me.
January 24, 2019
I love all of the Joshua books. I've read them many times. I haven't read the series from start to finish in a while. So far they are all still amazing wonderful stories filled with hope and peace. However, The Homecoming didn't stand the test of time for me. It's centered around the millennium and Y2K, and I wasn't very nervous about the world ending at that time. So it's not very relatable to me. It's still a lovely story, but it's not my favorite of the series.
September 9, 2012
I was disappointed in this book. It didn't give me the same feeling as Joshua. Sometimes the first book is the best. I am now reading Joshua in the Holy Land. So far I like it a little better than Homecoming, but not as much as Joshua.
January 6, 2014
Again Joseph F. Girzone has nailed it. He is able to put Jesus as a modern human being. The stories are varied depending the the towns he is in. When Joshua is in New Orleans listening to the music, even though it is just a jazz trumpet, brings back the joy of life and the closeness of God.
June 30, 2008
It's a story about the return of Jesus in our day. His name is Joshua, and it gives you the likelihood that it really wouldn't be any different than when He came before.
April 10, 2009
A good read... very comforting and reassuring.
April 10, 2011
I generally really love this series, but this one left too many unanswered questions.
January 23, 2016
Again, really enjoying these books!
And I really like discussing them with my husband after he's read them too!
And I really like discussing them with my husband after he's read them too!
August 9, 2021
love it!
July 13, 2012
very inspiring
July 31, 2012
Spiritually up-lifting, and very comforting.
February 19, 2015
The summary says all. These are nice reads
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews