Daily reading.
I enjoyed Mary Healey's commentary on The Gospel of Mark so much that I thought I'd try another in the series.
What better to read than a commentary on one of the books that reflects Christians living the way we do today? Or practically. Drinking and fussing and feuding and snubbing each other ... no wonder poor Paul had to write them two good sized letters.
This has all the features of the other book (cross references with other scripture, the Catechism, lectionary; sidebar boxes with Biblical background, living tradition, history; points for reflection and application). The only difference is how a different author handles the material. In Montague's case, it is handled well thus far. The biggest change that I can see is Montague's more personal approach, frequently using his own point of view and interjecting personal stories into the reflection and application section. I am not a fan of this approach. Most of the points so far could have been handled in a more impersonal fashion (a la Healy's book) which opens it up for each person to reflect on their own points. The personal touch, in this series, seems to me to limit viewpoint.
However, that is a small part of the book and Montague's scholarship can't be disputed. In fact, it has been quite helpful to me so far.
UPDATE
Despite the personal comments, which are fewer and fewer as we get into the book, this is brilliant. Talk about digging into the scripture. I particularly appreciate the comparison of original words to the different translations (NAB, RSV, NIV, etc.) as it helps me see all the ways one can look at a passage ... and often compared to the original text there is no one translation that comes closest to the actual meaning. I can't recommend this commentary highly enough.