The Hospitality of God: A Reading of Luke's Gospel

by Brendan Byrne SJ

Overview

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 particularly prominent, such as the infancy stories, Jesus at Nazareth, Jesus in the house of Simon, the Good Samaritan, Martha and Mary, the banquet in 14:1-35, the Prodigal Son, Jesus' visit to the tax collector Zacchaeus, the institution of the Eucharist, and the Emmaus event.

This revised edition includes a new introductory chapter titled “Features of Luke,” which includes distinctive themes and motifs of the gospel that invite all to join in the life-giving hospitality of God. This revised edition is an excellent resource for students, teachers, and pastors interested in Luke’s gospel or in search of a helpful perspective for pastoral and homiletic reflection and preparation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814639702
Publisher:	Liturgical Press, The
Publication date:	06/15/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Brendan Byrne, SJ, is a professor of New Testament at Jesuit Theological College, within the United Faculty of Theology, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of Romans (1996) from the Sacra Pagina series, Galatians and Romans (2010), A Costly Freedom: A Theological Reading of Mark's Gospel (2008), Lifting the Burden: Reading Matthew's Gospel in the Church Today (2004), and Life Abounding: A Reading of John’s Gospel (2014), published by Liturgical Press.

Editorial Reviews

. . . remarkable for the deftness and brevity with which its author draws us into the expansive, inviting world of 'the hospitality of God.' Wide scholarship and deep faith combine with keen pastoral sensitivity and clarity of expression to make Brendan Byrne a genial host at the scriptural banquet he has so splendidly provided. In this year of Jubilee there could not be a better book to read or a better gift to share.
Tony Kelly, CSSR, Australian Catholic University

To a generation for whom hospitality means gourmet food and designer table linen, Brendan Byrne offers a much-needed corrective. . . . Deeply engaged both with Luke's story and with the contemporary church, Byrne's study is a genuine contribution.
Beverly Gaventa, Helen H.P. Manson Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis, Princeton Theological Seminary

. . . a much needed and subtle reading of the Gospel of Luke. . . . Reading this book is a satisfying experience, made more so by the remarkable synthesis of the Lukan agenda offered by the 16 'theses' posted in the final pages of the book.
Francis J. Moloney, SDB, Professor of New Testament, The Catholic University of America

This is an excellent resource for students, teachers, and pastors interested in Luke's gospel or in search of a helpful perspective for pastoral and homiletic reflection and preparation.
Interpretation

Helpful and important book for evangelizers.
Crux

. . . a fine contribution to the ongoing enterprise of reading Luke as a whole . . . this little volume is to be recommended highly.
Catholic Biblical Quarterly

It is a very readable and concise commentary on the whole Gospel, aimed at the general reader. Byrne helps us to experience Jesus' life and ministry as a visitation by God that continually poses the question, How will this guest be received? Will we accept or reject him?
Church

From the Publisher