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This major contribution to Pauline scholarship by a widely-respected New Testament scholar is the culmination of over forty years of teaching on Paul. Brendan Byrne demonstrates that topics often discussed in Pauline studies and Christian theology go astray when the significance of the last judgment falls from view. Offering a fresh Catholic perspective that engages with centuries of Protestant interpretation, this book recaptures the significance of the motif of the last judgment for the interpretation of Paul.
This commentary adopts a literary-rhetorical approach, viewing the letter as an instrument of persuasion designed to transform readers through a celebratory presentation of the Gospel. Reflecting upon the fate of Jews and Gentiles, Paul wins his audience to a vision of a God who always acts inclusively. The God who, in the person of Israel's Messiah (Jesus), has acted faithfully to include the Gentile peoples within the community of salvation, will not fail to see to the eventual inclusion of Israel as well. In the victory of grace displayed already in the risen humanity of Jesus, the original design of the Creator for human communities and for the world begins to come true. The interpretation of Paul's letter to Rome has accompanied and stimulated the path of Christian theology down to today. Romans touches upon virtually all main issues of Christian theology, as well as presenting a rewarding introduction to Paul. Byrne facilitates full access to Paul and his Gospel through the letter, allowing Christians today to hear his voice as intelligibly and powerfully as it has spoken to past generations.
Matthew's Gospel and Judaism - Jesus' origins and childhood - Jesus' Public Ministry - Ministry in Galilee - Teacher and Interpreter of the Torah - Healer and Reconciler - Twelve apostles - Parables - Messiah's ministry in Jerusalem - The Church on mission to the nations.
With this study of the Gospel of Mark, Brendan Byrne completes his trilogy of works on the Synoptic Gospels. Mark, the Cinderella gospel, as Byrne says, languished for millennia in the shadow of Matthew ("the first gospel") and Luke. Beginning in the nineteenth century, scholars uncovered what is now generally accepted as the more likely scenario: that Mark was the pioneer, creating a new literary genre ("gospel") in which to communicate the "Good News of Jesus Christ." This Good News according to Mark is essentially a message of freedom a freedom, however, that does "not come about without cost: a cost to Jesus, a cost to the Father, and a cost to those called to associate themselves with h...
The fourth gospel addresses the thirst for life that lies at the depth of every human heart. The life in question is not just physical life but the “more abundant life‘” (John 10:10) that is nothing less than a share in the “eternal life” of the divine communion of love. In Life Abounding, Brendan Byrne, SJ, facilitates a reading of John for readers today so that it may move them from mere existence to a conscious sense of sharing the divine eternal life—and the joy that goes with it.The reading of the Fourth Gospel offered here remains conscious of the difficulties John presents on several fronts for contemporary readers. Byrne explains the text in a way that is critical yet sensitive to the gospel’s distinctive character and the untapped treasures it may yet contain for theology and spirituality today. This volume represents the completion of Byrne’s highly successful series of books on the four gospels, which have proven to be rich resources for preachers, teachers, and all who desire a more profound understanding of the life of Jesus as it is presented in the gospels.
This commentary adopts a literary-rhetorical approach, viewing the letter as an instrument of persuasion designed to transform readers through a celebratory presentation of the Gospel. Reflecting upon the fate of Jews and Gentiles, Paul wins his audience to a vision of a God who always acts inclusively. The God who, in the person of Israel's Messiah (Jesus), has acted faithfully to include the Gentile peoples within the community of salvation, will not fail to see to the eventual inclusion of Israel as well. In the victory of grace displayed already in the risen humanity of Jesus, the original design of the Creator for human communities and for the world begins to come true. The interpretation of Paul's letter to Rome has accompanied and stimulated the path of Christian theology down to today. Romans touches upon virtually all main issues of Christian theology, as well as presenting a rewarding introduction to Paul. Byrne facilitates full access to Paul and his Gospel through the letter, allowing Christians today to hear his voice as intelligibly and powerfully as it has spoken to past generations.
Of all the writings of Paul none have made so signal a contribution to Christian life and identity as the Letter to the Galatians and the Letter to the Romans. While written at quite separate stages of his apostolic career and very different in tone, the two letters unite in projecting above all a common Vision of God as a God of grace. Both call for a human response of faith and love, from which will flow a Christian life lived in freedom and hope. This commentary brings out these positive emphases in Galatians and Romans, while also remaining sensitive to the part these letters have played in divisions between Protestants and Catholics, on the one hand, and Christian caricature of Judaism, on the other. The aim is to clarify and shed light where Paul can be obscure as well as to bring out the full riches of his powerful presentation of the Good News for the life of believers today.
Human beings are embedded in a set of social relations. A social network is one way of conceiving that set of relations in terms of a number of persons connected to one another by varying degrees of relatedness. In the early Jesus group documents featuring Paul and coworkers, it takes little effort to envision the apostle's collection of friends and friends of friends that is the Pauline network. The persons who constituted that network are the focus of this set of brief books. For Christians of the Western tradition, these persons are significant ancestors in faith. While each of them is worth knowing by themselves, it is largely because of their standing within that web of social relations...
These profound and inspiring reflections on the Gospel of John will open to preachers, religious, and parish groups interested in Scripture, the treasures that the Fourth Gospel contains for the life of the world. Brendan Byrne draws on the insights in Life Abounding, his academic commentary on the Fourth Gospel, to enrich the understanding of non-scholars in Come to the Light. Discussion questions provided at the end of each talk serve as a starting point for the reader’s personal contemplation.
Luke portrays the life and ministry of Jesus as a divine "visitation" to the world, seeking hospitality. The One who comes as visitor and guest becomes host and offers a hospitality in which the entire world can become truly human, be at home, and know salvation in the depths of their hearts. In this new edition of The Hospitality of God, Brendan Byrne, SJ, provides to-the-point commentary on those parts of Luke's gospel that bring home to people a sense of the extravagance of God's love for them. The Hospitality of God approaches Luke's gospel through the interpretive key of "hospitality." It looks at the gospel as a whole, yet lingers upon scenes where the theme of hospitality is particula...