Jesus as Teacher

The great Dr. Pheme Perkins, professor of Theology at the renowned Jesuit Boston College, has written here a wonderful summation of the role of Jesus as teacher, the methods and means of conveying his message of God's Love, including parables, similes, puns and metaphor, and a syllabus of his subject matter, including the coming of God's Reign, justice and solidarity, wealth and earthly riches, forgiveness and the love of enemies as the essential love, and the words of our essential prayer. This concise, well written, scholarly, popular yet comprehensive slim volume serves for anyone: neophyte, pastor, parishioner, teacher, student, Catholic, to discover the true meaning and message of Jesus Christ, and generously includes suggestions for further study. It helpfully asks questions for consideration whether in private study or as part of a discussion group, a phenomenom of prayer once found useful in a variety of settings, most famously in Solentiname, but which now appears less widely employed in our increasingly individuated and alienated society in which a rich variety of thoughts, experiences, reflections and perspectives creates controversy and conflict rather than provoking deeper reflection on the eternal and infinite mysteries of our Faith in God's Love as embodied in Jesus Christ and alive in the Holy Spirit amongst us. We intolerantly and to our own peril no longer hear the voice of the Other with compassion and respect and love and learning and expansion, but cut it off in solipsistic annihilation which only leaves our own selves the smaller and the poorer. Let us here at least hear Pheme. All of Professor Pheme's writings have become standard works, including her Reading the New Testament: An Introduction and Love Commands in the New Testament and are well recommended for their scholarly approach to Holy Scripture and their clear, concise presentation.