| Author: | Paul Borgman |
|---|---|
| Published By: | Wm B Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, Michigan) |
| Pages: | 416 |
| Price: | 12.99 |
| ISBN: | 0 8028 2936 8 |
In this overview of Luke-Acts, Paul Borgman (professor of English at Gordon CollegeMassachusetts and a specialist in biblical narrative) conveys a real love and breathless excitement about Luke's portrayal of the Gospel. He encourages us to listen carefully. The work, he argues, is a narrative to be heard, a drama with all the elements of narrative art (balanced patterns, parallels, interlocking themes, echoes and poetry). Rather than a set of passages to be analysed, he shows the narrative coherence of Luke's Gospel and Acts.
This literary approach brings fresh insights to familiar stories and sayings. It is certainly not a comprehensive commentary on every part of Luke-Acts, but it takes us to the heart of Luke's message. He describes the central drama of Luke's two part story as a clash between "two fundamentally different ways, God's Way of radical love (of enemy, for example) and the normal way, the ordinary path of self-interest and clan loyalty" (p.14).
He uncovers many parallels within and between the two books and an orderliness that has a seamless forward spiralling momentum taking us from "the Way demonstrated through the teaching and life of Jesus" to "that same Way spreading through the life of his followers". The principles of the Way are the need to pray, to hear God's Word and do it, to relinquish possessions, privilege, family and religion and to seek God's Kingdom. It involves a "difficult peace" and a "strange joy".
Above all the key themes in Luke-Acts are Repentance, Resurrection and the Holy Spirit. He ends by using the story of the Gentile jailer (Acts 16:28-34) as a summary of the whole story.
I found this book a challenging reminder of the radical faith we are called to hold, live by and proclaim in opposition to our own all too human seeking after approval, status and self-promotion.You are reading Issue 40 of Ministry Today, published in July 2007.
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