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Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women
"We must begin our story of Jesus by granting him permission to surprise us endlessly...." ---from the Introduction
Jesus of Galilee taught through stories, which even today contain the power to startle us out of our prejudices and preconceptions. Now Father Andrew M. Greeley, one of America's most beloved storytellers, examines the parables told by Jesus in search of a fuller understanding of the man and his message.
This engaging and informal collection of homilies reveals a Jesus whose simple parables carry profound lessons about the Kingdom of Heaven. Along the way, Father Greeley touches on such provocative topics as the significance of Jesus's Jewish roots, his deep and revolutionary relationship with women, The Da Vinci Code, and The Passion of the Christ . He also singles out the four greatest parables, which best illustrate the infinite love and mercy of the God whose kingdom began with Jesus and continues even today.
As a storyteller, Jesus often surprised his listeners with unexpected twists that challenged them to see the world in a whole new light. Father Greeley's insightful tour of the Gospels provides a fresh look at the parables that strips away centuries of false and mistaken interpretations to get at the essential truth of who Jesus really was and what he believed.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Jesus of Galilee taught through stories, which even today contain the power to startle us out of our prejudices and preconceptions. Now Father Andrew M. Greeley, one of America's most beloved storytellers, examines the parables told by Jesus in search of a fuller understanding of the man and his message.
This engaging and informal collection of homilies reveals a Jesus whose simple parables carry profound lessons about the Kingdom of Heaven. Along the way, Father Greeley touches on such provocative topics as the significance of Jesus's Jewish roots, his deep and revolutionary relationship with women, The Da Vinci Code, and The Passion of the Christ . He also singles out the four greatest parables, which best illustrate the infinite love and mercy of the God whose kingdom began with Jesus and continues even today.
As a storyteller, Jesus often surprised his listeners with unexpected twists that challenged them to see the world in a whole new light. Father Greeley's insightful tour of the Gospels provides a fresh look at the parables that strips away centuries of false and mistaken interpretations to get at the essential truth of who Jesus really was and what he believed.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
173 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
33 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Andrew M. Greeley
373 books317 followersAndrew Greeley was a Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, journalist, and author of 50 best-selling novels and more than 100 works of nonfiction. For decades, Greeley entertained readers with such popular characters as the mystery-solving priest Blackie Ryan and the fey, amateur sleuth Nuala Anne McGrail. His books typically center on Irish-American Roman Catholics living or working in Chicago.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/andrew...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/andrew...
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 23, 2021
In my "forgo the library, read books from my shelves" campaign, I started with this. My intention was to read it, think about it, and then give it away to clear space on my shelf. I will still give it away, but for entirely different reasons.
I don't remember the last time I read a book that felt so intensely genuine.
Before passing away in 2013, Greeley was a Catholic priest and a professor of sociology at Arizona. Those two occupations often coincide with writings styles of inflated importance, but not so here. Greeley didn't write exhortatively, emotionally, or expositorily as is the norm with authors in anything labelled "Christian". The book is called "a meditation" and it truly is, an even-keeled contemplation of elements of Jesus often ignored from the pulpit, namely his radically feminist treatment of women and his pedagogy.
Greeley's discussion of Jesus' relationships to women shouldn't be radical, but pragmatically is for many. Women were the witnesses to Jesus' resurrection. Yet we deny them pastorates. A woman, Jesus' mother, exerted enough authority over him and he yielded to that authority, resulting in the miracle at Cana. Yet we denigrate their authority.
Where many want to exegete the ever-loving Jesus out of His parables, Greeley goes the opposite direction, claiming the great parables are not analogies, but have a single, unified subject: God. God is the vinter, the Good Samaritan, the indulgent father. The stories are not about human beings beyond us being called to emulate him. To find further analogy in these parables is to "diffuse [the point] among many clever interpretations" and destroy the intended message. What Christian among us hasn't heard thirty different analogies for the "Prodigal Son"?
Greeley sprinkles his "hot takes" across the book in passing references, some of which will affront the reader while other will pass unnoticed. He makes known his acceptance of modern science alongside the Bible with the two phrases: "before we swung down from the trees" and "the one who created the Big Bang [...] with us in mind". He rather overtly states his disbelief in Inerrancy stating that "The explanation of [the parable of the sower] in Matthew's Gospel is an allegory that perverts the point of the parable" and "I doubt that Jesus ever explained a parable." I take these as attempts to normalize liberal beliefs working together with Christianity to form a complete worldview, attempts I wholeheartedly appreciate, having seen few if any in other Christian books that weren't written for that explicit purpose.
Part of the genuineness of the book stems from a man - learned in both academic and religious circles - not squeezing every drop of meaning from a two centimeter passage, but accepting the offered parabolic fruit for what it is, regardless of what it is. I can think of no higher praise for Greeley or his work than this.
I don't remember the last time I read a book that felt so intensely genuine.
Before passing away in 2013, Greeley was a Catholic priest and a professor of sociology at Arizona. Those two occupations often coincide with writings styles of inflated importance, but not so here. Greeley didn't write exhortatively, emotionally, or expositorily as is the norm with authors in anything labelled "Christian". The book is called "a meditation" and it truly is, an even-keeled contemplation of elements of Jesus often ignored from the pulpit, namely his radically feminist treatment of women and his pedagogy.
Greeley's discussion of Jesus' relationships to women shouldn't be radical, but pragmatically is for many. Women were the witnesses to Jesus' resurrection. Yet we deny them pastorates. A woman, Jesus' mother, exerted enough authority over him and he yielded to that authority, resulting in the miracle at Cana. Yet we denigrate their authority.
Where many want to exegete the ever-loving Jesus out of His parables, Greeley goes the opposite direction, claiming the great parables are not analogies, but have a single, unified subject: God. God is the vinter, the Good Samaritan, the indulgent father. The stories are not about human beings beyond us being called to emulate him. To find further analogy in these parables is to "diffuse [the point] among many clever interpretations" and destroy the intended message. What Christian among us hasn't heard thirty different analogies for the "Prodigal Son"?
Greeley sprinkles his "hot takes" across the book in passing references, some of which will affront the reader while other will pass unnoticed. He makes known his acceptance of modern science alongside the Bible with the two phrases: "before we swung down from the trees" and "the one who created the Big Bang [...] with us in mind". He rather overtly states his disbelief in Inerrancy stating that "The explanation of [the parable of the sower] in Matthew's Gospel is an allegory that perverts the point of the parable" and "I doubt that Jesus ever explained a parable." I take these as attempts to normalize liberal beliefs working together with Christianity to form a complete worldview, attempts I wholeheartedly appreciate, having seen few if any in other Christian books that weren't written for that explicit purpose.
Part of the genuineness of the book stems from a man - learned in both academic and religious circles - not squeezing every drop of meaning from a two centimeter passage, but accepting the offered parabolic fruit for what it is, regardless of what it is. I can think of no higher praise for Greeley or his work than this.
September 22, 2023
Father Andrew M. Greeley seeks to instill in readers an understanding of Jesus as the way to an all-loving God.
I view Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women as divided into three parts, rather than the two mentioned in the title. Greeley initially considers the overall mission of Jesus, arguing that a key tactic of Jesus is surprise and offering the example of the encounter on the road to Emmaus (Luke 14:13-38).
“His Relationships with Women” comprise the second part. Greeley finds Jesus always respectful to women, always forgiving, and never denouncing them as he sometimes does men. Greeley speculates that Mary Magdeline and Mary and Martha were sexually attracted to Jesus. He is quick to stress Jesus’s celibacy, denouncing the book and film of The Last Temptation of Christ, but he appears to be having fun with the matter of sexuality. The adjective that came to mind is “puckish.”
In the third part, about “His Stories,” Greeley contrasts “parable” and “allegory,” defining the former as specifically centered on God. He claims that to view the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) as a model of how a good person should act is to misinterpret it as an allegory; as a parable, it means to show the boundlessness of God’s love. Luke, however, introduces the story with a scholar asking Jesus about eternal life and Jesus eliciting from him the principle of loving one’s neighbor. The man asks who his neighbor is, and Jesus tells the story.
I view Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women as divided into three parts, rather than the two mentioned in the title. Greeley initially considers the overall mission of Jesus, arguing that a key tactic of Jesus is surprise and offering the example of the encounter on the road to Emmaus (Luke 14:13-38).
“His Relationships with Women” comprise the second part. Greeley finds Jesus always respectful to women, always forgiving, and never denouncing them as he sometimes does men. Greeley speculates that Mary Magdeline and Mary and Martha were sexually attracted to Jesus. He is quick to stress Jesus’s celibacy, denouncing the book and film of The Last Temptation of Christ, but he appears to be having fun with the matter of sexuality. The adjective that came to mind is “puckish.”
In the third part, about “His Stories,” Greeley contrasts “parable” and “allegory,” defining the former as specifically centered on God. He claims that to view the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) as a model of how a good person should act is to misinterpret it as an allegory; as a parable, it means to show the boundlessness of God’s love. Luke, however, introduces the story with a scholar asking Jesus about eternal life and Jesus eliciting from him the principle of loving one’s neighbor. The man asks who his neighbor is, and Jesus tells the story.
September 2, 2021
The loudest people talking about Jesus are rarely the people who should be taken as his representation, so it was nice to read some measured meditations of his message. As Father Greeley clearly explains, these are his own meditations, not rigorous academic essays. Someone with a stronger connection to the parables than myself (an atheist who hasn’t thought of them since Sunday School some twenty years ago) might disagree with his interpretations, but I took it in with an open mind and found his reasoning easy to follow and supported by relevant passages.
August 5, 2018
I have heard the parables since I was a little girl and sometimes they can seem rather dry. Father Greeley was able to give me new insights into the stories. The Prodigal Son (called the Indulgent Father here) in particular had fresh insights for me.
A major theme of the book is that God has many surprises for us. Jesus was not what the Jews expected and we need to be open to surprises as well.
A major theme of the book is that God has many surprises for us. Jesus was not what the Jews expected and we need to be open to surprises as well.
November 7, 2023
His essay in the book on Women is the best I've read in a long time!
July 1, 2025
What an eye opener written by a wise man. Opened my mind. The last three sentences grabbed me.
did-not-finish
October 31, 202510/26/2025 DNF at 29%. I was kind of bored, but then it really lost me at speculating about who had a crush on Jesus.
March 25, 2011
Well, you can't go wrong with the subject. And I like that Greeley mapped out where he was going in the introduction so that I couldn't take issue later. I don't agree with a lot of the places he took me and I have greater respect for the work of Kazantzakis and Tim Rice (JC Superstar). Heck, dissing JC Superstar will cost you a star from me in any book. At the same time Greeley wants to introduce the novelty that Jesus might have been sexually attracted to women. I didn't really understand his distinction between what he allowed in Jesus and what Kazantzakis introduced. Greeley does offer an olive branch to the Jesus Seminar. That must've exhausted his magnanimity.
Some of Greeley's insights on the parables are fantastic. When you think you know all about the parables, someone who can show you something is a Godsend. I wish the "relationships with women" part had been as good. I even think he was confused about what a "bridegroom" was.
The other theme of the book was "God surprises" which indeed true. But I think the point was labored. Just let me be surprised - don't tell me I'm being surprised.
Three stars - minus one. JC Superstar was the best rock opera ever and if you don't like it - don't blame it on Tim Rice's theology.
Some of Greeley's insights on the parables are fantastic. When you think you know all about the parables, someone who can show you something is a Godsend. I wish the "relationships with women" part had been as good. I even think he was confused about what a "bridegroom" was.
The other theme of the book was "God surprises" which indeed true. But I think the point was labored. Just let me be surprised - don't tell me I'm being surprised.
Three stars - minus one. JC Superstar was the best rock opera ever and if you don't like it - don't blame it on Tim Rice's theology.
August 16, 2009
In this book, Father Greeley exams the parables told by Jesus and gives context, background and very often new understandings to the meanings of the parables. One important point about the parables that many people seem to not understand is that they are not allegories.
He also exams the stories of Jesus interactions with women, including his mother and, again, gives context, background and new understanding to these relationships. He also points out that there are several Marys in the gospel writings and that the stories of these Marys have often been mis-told as if all the Marys were the same women.
Woven into both the examinations of the parables and stories about the women in Jesus' life is also some comparisons about the differences between each of the gospel writings.
I grew up hearing these parables and stories and this book has given me a new look at the stories as well as a deeper understanding of Jesus' teachings.
He also exams the stories of Jesus interactions with women, including his mother and, again, gives context, background and new understanding to these relationships. He also points out that there are several Marys in the gospel writings and that the stories of these Marys have often been mis-told as if all the Marys were the same women.
Woven into both the examinations of the parables and stories about the women in Jesus' life is also some comparisons about the differences between each of the gospel writings.
I grew up hearing these parables and stories and this book has given me a new look at the stories as well as a deeper understanding of Jesus' teachings.
abandoned
December 8, 2019This is a case where the format may make the difference in my ability to appreciate a book. I generally like Andrew Greeley as an author, albeit only being familiar with his fiction and not having read his nonfiction, but after getting just a short ways into this, I am abandoning it as the narrator did not work for me in the audiobook version. Dick Hill reminded me of an inexperienced preacher that endeavors to throw emphasis into every other word to the extent that that speech style began to draw and predominate in my attention, utterly distracting from content. The high accentuation of pitch rise and fall felt unnatural to the material and I began to feel irritated rather than engaged. I may try to find the paper version of this book to read, but the audiobook is a no for me.
Want to read
July 28, 2011Just started reading this and it is fantastic! Very different genre from his historic romances, but packed with amazing facts and insights by a personable, intelligent man, nonetheless! Love you, Father Greeley. Wish you well in a speedy recovery and lots more terrific years. We are so blessed to know you!
March 25, 2009
An astute exploration of an extravagant God via Jesus' parables.
May 1, 2009
It was a very good insightful book. Gave a new perspective on who Jesus was and what He was like, especially how He was when talking with women. I highly recommend the book.
April 11, 2010
First 40 pages or so were rather slow but the rest of the book was interesting.
August 28, 2011
I have never read Andrew Greeley. This is a book that views all sides of the parable The greatests.
June 21, 2012
Absolutely fantastic - might have to actually buy this one to have on hand for a re-read!
February 18, 2018
Reviewed the book on my podcast Jesus in Books: http://jesusinbooks.com/why-jesus-was...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews