Synopses & Reviews
Many men and women have already made the prayerful discovery that the experience of solidarity with one another and the search for God are mysteriously linked. Reiser states that the word solidarity" provides a contemporary key to understanding Mark's message about Jesus' life and mission.
The Bible repeatedly demonstrates that the story of God entails the story of God's people, especially the poor and defenseless ones among them; and the history of God's people becomes the story of Israel's God. One cannot adequately understand the interior life of Jesus without taking into account the life of the people of God in its social, cultural, political, and religious dimensions. Jesus lived and died in solidarity with his people: He died for them because he had lived for them.
In Jesus in Solidarity with His People Reiser examines important questions that Mark raises, questions that bear heavily on adult Christian spirituality. He demonstrates that what is of importance in reading and understanding Mark's Gospel is not our mindfulness of how much God loves the people but our knowledge of how deeply we love the people of God. It is our love for the world that is required to bring this gospel, this good news of Christ risen, this Easter story, to life.
Chapters are "The Theological Matters," "A Believer from the Beginning," "Of Calling and Following," "The Authority to Forgive," "What God Ordains," "A Kingdom of Throwaways," "Paying the Emperor's Tax," "A World of Parables," "Does Mark Encourage a Cult of Suffering?" "In the Company of Prophets," "Can God Be Trusted?" "What Sort of God Would Raise the Dead?" and "The Futility of Secrets."
William Reiser, SJ, PhD, is professor of theology at Holy Cross College."
Review
A rare combination of biblical exegesis, theological insight, and pastoral sensitivity, these impressive essays on Mark's Gospel will help students and all those interested in Scripture to make links between the first and the twenty-first centuries. . . . The result is both a fresh reading of Mark and a primer of Christian spirituality.Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Review
In this learned yet deeply contemplative look at Mark's Gospel, we are invited to a fresh encounter with Jesus Christ. William Reiser's consoling yet discomforting study cuts to the heart of Mark's message: Salvation in Christ comes in and through solidarity with his people. With the confident poise of a seasoned scholar and teacher, Reiser challenges us to meet Jesus in our time and place by discovering him among his own people, especially those who are last, littlest, and least.Michael Downey, Professor of Systematic Theology and Spirituality, St. John's Seminary, Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Review
. . . a thorough and pastorally rich engagement with the major motifs of Mark, drawing out the Gospel's christology and its challenging portrayal of Christian life.The Bible Today
Review
The distinction between empathy with an ancient author and modernizing him is always difficult to sustain and it is clear that from time to time Reiser strays into modernizing; but the reader will find it rewarding and challenging to follow his path.Epworth Review
Review
. . . provides a fresh encounter with Jesus as portrayed by Mark and provides the reader with a reflection on discipleship that both challenges and consoles; at the same time the author emphasizes the difference between consolation and comfort. . . . Reiser's treatment of Jesus' suffering and its implications for discipleship is perhaps the most powerful aspect of this book.Cistercian Studies Quarterly
Synopsis
Jesus in Solidarity with His People: A Theologian Looks at Mark works from two premises. The first is that the Gospel of Mark is, from beginning to end, an Easter story. And the second is that the category of solidarity provides a contemporary key for understanding Mark's message about Jesus' life and mission. The book argues that the spiritual effectiveness of Mark's story will be determined largely by how much the reader is willing to live, like Jesus, in solidarity with God's people. The opening chapter surveys the range of theological matters that the text invites us to think about. Subsequent chapters return to those issues as they appear in the Gospel text.
Synopsis
States that the word "solidarity" provides a contemporary key to understanding Mark's message about Jesus' life and mission.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-223) and indexes.
About the Author
William Reiser, SJ, PhD, is a professor of theology in the religious studies department at Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts. Over the past twelve years, he has also served as an associate staff member at the Center for Religious Development in Cambridge. He is the author of Jesus in Solidarity with His People, published by Liturgical Press.