The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers (review)

John Shea is well known as both a theologian and a storyteller. In fact, he was one of the first to examine story as a valid and powerful genre in theological interpretation and development. Since then, he has been in the forefront of that approach to theology, writing books, giving lectures, and offering workshops in this field of theological endeavor. The three books examined here are part of a four-volume set of reflections on the Gospel passages chosen for lectionary use. These books include reflections for all of the Sundays of the three cycles of the liturgical year. The fourth volume will include reflections for feasts, funerals, and weddings.

Shea has written these books for three groups of people. The primary audience consists of preachers and teachers and all those involved in weekly liturgical preparation. The second group he has in mind is made up of those people who regularly reflect on the Sunday gospel readings and in doing so seek to develop a vibrant liturgical/biblical spirituality. Finally, he believes that the book will be of interest to all spiritual seekers of any faith tradition who look to Gospels as a source of universal wisdom.

The volume for Year A opens with a Preface in which Shea explains the genesis of this project. There he describes how it grew out of a series of workshops he gave for preachers and teachers. These workshops were offered over the years at the Center for Development of Ministry located on the campus of University of St. Mary's of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois. The multiplicity of such workshops and the dynamic interaction that took place among the participants succeeded in honing the approach employed and refining the theology that was developed in this process.

The Preface is followed by a lengthy, informative Introduction consisting of an extensive essay explaining the major focus of the interpretative approach that was developed. Concerned about the spiritual illiteracy of so many Christians, Shea's goal was to develop a "vision of spiritual transformation in the Gospels." Simply put, he argues that following this approach, the teacher or preacher should be able to help the listeners set aside all preoccupations they may be entertaining, whether physical or social, and to open their creative consciousness to the spiritual possibilities of the biblical story under consideration. The approach requires a certain amount of knowledge, skill, and imagination on the part of the teacher or preacher and attention, understanding, and integration on the part of the audience.

The second volume in this series does not include an initial Preface, but it does have a different Introduction in which Shea discusses the conversational patterns used in his interpretative process. He demonstrates this process, rather than simply explaining it, thereby making it both understandable and practical. Being the storyteller he is, in it he recounts an experience he had with a contemporary Jewish storyteller, an experience that left a lasting impression on Shea's own memory and planted the seeds for the approach he would later develop. He then uses this approach as a lens through which he examines what he maintains was Jesus' own method of telling stories, as found in three Gospel passages. From this he draws a list of fifteen presuppositions he believes were in the mind of Jesus, and should be in the mind of the teacher or preacher. These presuppositions are commonsensical, yet are frequently overlooked insights into the mind of the audience. They include the need to be open to God; the human inclination to possessiveness; and the human preference of a transcendent God rather...