Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women [Paperback]

Andrew M. Greeley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0765320290 | ISBN-13: 978-0765320292 | Edition: 1st

“We must begin our story of Jesus by granting him permission to surprise us endlessly....” ---from the Introduction
 
Jesus of Galilee taught through stories, which even today contain the power to startle us out of our prejudices and preconceptions. Now Father Andrew M. Greeley, one of America’s most beloved storytellers, examines the parables told by Jesus in search of a fuller understanding of the man and his message.

This engaging and informal collection of homilies reveals a Jesus whose simple parables carry profound lessons about the Kingdom of Heaven. Along the way, Father Greeley touches on such provocative topics as the significance of Jesus’s Jewish roots, his deep and revolutionary relationship with women, The Da Vinci Code, and The Passion of the Christ. He also singles out the four greatest parables, which best illustrate the infinite love and mercy of the God whose kingdom began with Jesus and continues even today.

As a storyteller, Jesus often surprised his listeners with unexpected twists that challenged them to see the world in a whole new light. Father Greeley’s insightful tour of the Gospels provides a fresh look at the parables that strips away centuries of false and mistaken interpretations to get at the essential truth of who Jesus really was and what he believed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Father Andrew Greeley is well known for his sometimes spicy murder mysteries and his always progressive view of religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular. It comes as no surprise that he would pen this delightful exploration of Jesus' relationships with women. Focusing largely on the parables, the book brings fresh meaning to these familiar stories, infusing them with what Greeley terms "the good news of a Great Surprise," the marvelous revelation of God's love and acceptance of women in a largely male-dominated society. Many of the women are unnamed—the Samaritan woman, the woman at the well, etc.—and some are named, like Mary of Magdala, who may have had a romantic relationship with Jesus. Greeley is certainly a prolific author—he's written some 50 works of fiction and more than 100 works of nonfiction—and this book illustrates why he is so popular. He takes the familiar—in this case, the parables of Jesus—and infuses it with new life and meaning. He leaves behind the dour, solemn proclamations of the church fathers and reminds us that "Jesus delights in surprising those he loves." In fact, Greeley's observations go far beyond Jesus' relationships with women, reminding us that God's love extends to even the least of us. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Those who consider Greeley the novelist as an unacquirable taste and Greeley the sociologist as an argument that economics isn't the only dismal science may find Greeley the homilist quite something else. Jesus, he says, is best viewed as a surprise and a constant surpriser, from the Annunciation to the Resurrection and beyond, when he appeared to many of his followers as at first unrecognizable and then, suddenly, as the risen Christ. Equally surprising for his ethnicity-, class-, and gender-hierarchalized place and time, he revealed himself risen first to a woman. That, however, Greeley says, wasn't surprising for Jesus, whose relations with women, reviewed in the heart of the book, were, Greeley argues, absolutely equitable, just, and merciful. Proceeding to the parables, Greeley renames some (e.g., "The Prodigal Father") to emphasize the figure in them whose love reassures us of God's unchanging reality, and discusses others, such as that of the wise and foolish virgins, that urge prompt, fitting response to God's call. As engaging and refreshing as traditional preaching should always be. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765320290
• ISBN-13: 978-0765320292
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars, March 23, 2007

By 

AK "Bro" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women (Hardcover)

***** Recent years have brough an onslaught of books, films, and other various forms of speculation about Jesus and his relationships with women, especially the notion that there could be a Mrs. Jesus. In the rush to look for gossip and scandal, or to refute the same, people have drifted between two heresies, gnosticism and docestism, while completely missing the glorious truth about the wondrous being of Christ, who is both God and man. Part of that identity was indeed how he related to women, and another major part of his persona was that of a storyteller. Father Greeley examines these two facets with a joyous love that makes you want to rush to find a Bible and re-experience the whole saga all over again. There are many books that give fascinating, intellectual insights into Scripture, but none of these unbiased, strictly factual volumes exudes the warmth and joy you find flowing for Father Greeley's pen. He offers a few new perspectives and insights, some startling, and some I do not fully agree with, but he is not offensive and does not provoke ire. If you have ever thought about Jesus, then this is a book that you should read. *****

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars God is like a . . ., September 11, 2007

By 

Daniel B. Clendenin (www.journeywithjesus.net) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women (Hardcover)

According to his web site, Father Andrew Greeley (born 1928) is "one of the most influential Catholic thinkers and writers of our time, a priest, sociologist, author and journalist who has built an international assemblage of devout fans over a career that spans five decades. He is the author of over 50 best-selling novels and more than 100 works of non-fiction and his writing has been translated into 12 languages. A Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona and a Research Associate with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, Father Greeley is a respected scholar whose current research focuses on the Sociology of Religion." This little book of meditations is not an academic or scholarly tome, but the sort of work he could write over a long and quiet weekend, and its awkward subtitle points to its lack of focus. But it's still worth reading.

The God whom Jesus revealed, writes Greeley, is a God of wonderful surprises and endless generosity. After illustrating this from the Christmas narratives and then from the story of the encounter on the road to Emmaus, in by far the longest chapter (pp. 57-106) Greeley explores the "profoundly shocking" nature of Jesus's relationship with women. He not only took their financial support but accepted them as traveling companions. He elevated them to an equality with men, just as he would elevate Gentiles to an equality with Jews. Although people could feel profoundly vulnerable in the presence of Jesus, women also felt unconditionally safe. These relationships with women, says Greeley, were not "passing incidents peripheral to the main story but central to Jesus' vision of the kingdom of God" (p. 104). In his final chapters Greeley examines the four "Great Parables" of reassurance that speak of God's outrageous and even profligate generosity: the stories of the Crazy Vintner, the Indulgent Father, the Lenient Judge, and the Good Samaritan. The parables of urgency remind us that grace is not cheap, life does not last forever, that our choices matter, and that the kingdom that Jesus announced calls us now and asks for everything. Along the way Greeley debunks the "absurd fantasies" of books like the DaVinci Code, and warns us of the many ways that we domesticate the Biblical stories into trite religious sentiment.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars reminded why Jesus remains relevant today, May 26, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women (Hardcover)

Known for his Nuala Anne McGrail and Bishop Blackie mysteries, Father Andrew Greeley provides an enlightening look at Jesus especially his relationships with women and not just females named Mary and his place in the twenty-first century of technology, science, and Da Vinci Codes. Father Greeley also provides a fascinating interpretation of the four major parables and some other tales told of or by Jesus. Well written Jesus reminds us that God has room for everyone in his tent as he and his son love all. Insightful Father Greeley reminds the faithful that there is a special place for the victims of genocides; the victims of the Holocaust, Darfur, and Rwanda, etc. This is an excellent work that will probably lead to proclamations by those who use Jesus as a weapon that Father Greeley will burn for his sins; while those like this reviewer are reminded why Jesus remains relevant today.

Harriet Klausner