By 1977, Frederick Buechner had over a dozen published books to his name. His writing, both fiction or non-fiction, has a common denominator: Buechner tells the truth.

Telling the Truth is his brief book of wisdom for preachers. Eschewing platitudes and dull readings of scripture, Buechner impresses the preacher with the significance of the task:

Drawing on nothing fancier than the poetry of his own life, let him [the preacher] use words and images that help make the surface of our lives transparent to the truth that lies deep within them, which is the wordless truth of who we are and who God is and the Gospel of our meeting. (24)

The gospel can be read through different lenses—tragedy, comedy, and fairy tale. When read afresh, it hits home in new ways. Brilliantly, Beuchner reimagines Pontius Pilate as a chain-smoking procurator who comes face-to-face with the Truth, asking “what is truth?” He envisions Sarah reminiscing about her earlier life with Abram in Mesopotamia: “They had a nice house in the suburbs with a two-car garage and color TV and a barbecue pit. They had a room all fixed up for when the babies started coming” (50). But of course the babies never arrived so is it any wonder God finds her laughing? A nonagenarian finally becomes fertile. Comedy indeed!

At times Buechner’s prose becomes a little too florid for my taste, but the truth it unveils is worth slowing down to read. The treasure’s fine.

Buechner, Frederick. Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy & Fairy Tale. Harper & Row, 1977.