Dwelling in the Household of God: Johannine Ecclesiology and Spirituality (review)

Dwelling in the Household of God is a sequel to Mary Coloe's first book, God Dwells with Us: Temple Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2001). The starting point for both books is the invitation of Jesus to his disciples in John 15:4, "Make your home in me, as I make mine in you." In her first book, Coloe explored what it means for God to make a dwelling in the human community ("as I make mine in you") and explored Temple imagery as the symbol that best conveys God's indwelling with God's people. In this second book Coloe focuses on the other half of Jesus' invitation ("make your home in me") and explores what it means for humans to make their "home" in God. For Coloe, the imagery of house and household in John convey the mutual indwelling expressed in this invitation.

The book consists of an introduction, in which Coloe reviews her method, followed by eight exegetical studies that analyze chapters of the Fourth Gospel containing scenes that relate to households. These eight exegetical studies follow the order in which the scenes appear in the Gospel. The book's final chapter is a conclusion in which Coloe explores some of the implications of her study.

Chapter 1, the introduction, establishes that Coloe's basic hermeneutical framework is informed by the work of Paul Ricoeur and to a lesser extent, Hans Georg Gadamer. That means that Coloe approaches hermeneutical questions with an eye toward the symbolic world that the text creates: "the entire narrative is itself a symbol of the faith expression of the community" (5). Coloe draws on historical and narrative criticism in her efforts to "break the code" of the Gospel's symbolism. The questions that guide her study (enumerated on p. 7) all push the biblical text toward its application in the contemporary life of faith (for example, "Does the household narrative suggest a deeper level of meaning that gives expression to the symbolic world of the community, to its faith, its spirituality, and its sense of identity?" Is the living "household of God" casting its own shadow on those scenes when Jesus gathers his own?"). Coloe's claim is that the self-identity of the Johannine community was as the household of God.

Chapters 2-9 study in turn the following Johannine scenes and episodes: John the Baptist; the call of the disciples (John 1:19-51), Nicodemus (John 3), Lazarus (John 11), the anointing at Bethany (John 12:1-8), the foot washing (John 13), the farewell discourse (Joh 14:1-15:17), and the resurrection appearance to the disciples and Thomas (John 20:19-26). Coloe charts a development of the household imagery in John that corresponds to this sequence of chapters: John the Baptist sets the scene for the formation of the household; the call of the disciples is the gathering of the household, Nicodemus and Lazarus represent, respectively, life and death in the household of God; followed by anointing in the household of God, welcome and dwelling in the household of God, and finally, resurrecting the household of God.

Each of the exegetical chapters follows a similar format. Coloe locates the episode in question in its larger context in John and then employs a traditional historical critical approach as a starting point for her analysis. She draws on Jewish traditions and practices in the Greco-Roman world to establish the historical context for each study, as well as comparisons with synoptic gospel traditions where relevant. The connection between the content and structure of the Gospel of John and Jewish liturgical traditions and practices is central to Coloe's analyses, featuring prominently in her interpretation of John the Baptist, the call of the disciples, and the anointing. Each chapter functions like a mini-commentary on each of the episodes in question, as Coloe provides detailed review and assessment on her way to highlighting the household...