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Title: Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross by Richard John Neuhaus ISBN: 0-465-04933-8 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 05 February, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 (10 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A focus on death?
Comment: Father Neuhaus has titled his book "Death on a Friday Afternoon" because that is when Jesus died. But his meditations on the seven last "words" of Jesus (actually, the seven last utterances) provide an understanding and explanation that will lead thoughtful readers into the meaning of the resurrection as well. Neuhaus, however, does not want readers to get to the resurrection without pondering carefully what is meant by the seven words on the cross, a compilation from the Gospel accounts.
I found Neuhaus'es book refreshing, in that it helped me to contemplate in a careful manner the circumstances in which Jesus uttered his words and the reason that he gave them.
Along the way Neuhaus introduces aspects of Catholic theology that are a part of his faith and world-view, but a Protestant reading the book (like myself) may find somewhat beside the point. Far more illuminating are the asides to social issues that are relevant to what Jesus said and taught.
In summary, a profoundly insightful book, caputuring the mystery of God in human form, dying painfully but purposefully on the cross for the sins of humankind.
Rating: 5
Summary: don't skip right to Easter and forget Good Friday
Comment: This is a wonderful book, written with patience, love, and care--written, at times, prayerfully and poetically. In contemplating our Christian faith, Neuhaus urges us not to skip Good Friday and go right to Easter and the joy of the Resurrection (though it IS joyful). Rather, we must reflect on the Crucifixion, on His death, without which there could have been no Resurrection and without which there would be no redemption. Some outsiders and even many Christians find the Crucifixion morbid and shy away from pondering it, but it is meant to shock and disturb. (This was not lost on Dostoevsky, who has some excellent passages and descriptions of the crucified Christ in The Idiot.) It was a death and murder, one in which we all are complicit. We must understand this before we can hope to understand the meaning of His death.
Neuhaus uses the seven last "words" (utterances, really) of Christ to explore the nature of His life and death, as well as the nature of our own lives and deaths. Tangentially, he comments on our culture and society, on permissivity and the like--ideas that will be familiar to readers of First Things. But this is primarily a book on religion, not politics. Nor is it an exposition of theology. Neuhaus avoids the often complicated and difficult-to-understand theological matters (and debates) that surround Christ's life, death, and resurrection, as well as the implications for us. Certainly, Neuhaus adheres to his--which is to say, the Catholic Church's--interpretation, but here he seeks to get to the foundations of Christianity. The result is something all Christians--and, indeed, anyone desiring to understand the faith--can enjoy and appreciate.
Rating: 5
Summary: Quite simply, the truth about everything.
Comment: The Seven Last Words are not seven "words" but seven "utterances" and they are these:
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."
"Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother."
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
"I thirst."
"It is finished."
"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."
These are the seven biblically recorded utterances of Christ on the cross, and Neuhaus has written, in my opinion, the superlative meditation of the significance of these final words of Jesus. Each chapter expounds upon one of these "words". The writing is so clear-headed... it will appeal to those who need to approach the ineffable mystery with at least one foot on the ground. Or even two! It is not spiritual platitude, it is gut-level and sobering. Have you ever wondered what happened when Jesus died on the cross? Or WHY it happened? Or IF it happened? This book speaks to those questions, with a rational approach that can only be likened to the writings of C.S. Lewis.
I was transfixed, and overwhelmed (in a good way) with the wealth of information in Neuhaus's book. Beautifully written.
He says in the preface, "If what Christians say about Good Friday is true, then it is, quite simply, the truth about everything. I have written this for people who are convinced of that truth, for people who are open to thinking about whether it may be true and for people who are just curious about why so much of the world thinks Good Friday is the key to understanding what Dante called 'the love that moves the sun and all the other stars.'"
The Convinced. The Cautious. The Curious. If you are any of these three types, this book will not disappoint you.
"We must not turn away from what we have done to God, lest we be found to have turned away from what He has done for us." (p.257).
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Title: As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning by Richard John Neuhaus ISBN: 0465049303 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 05 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
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Title: The Truth of Catholicism: Ten Controversies Explored by George Weigel ISBN: 0066213304 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 23 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The Seven Last Words by Fulton J. Sheen ISBN: 0818907606 Publisher: Alba House Pub. Date: April, 1996 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: The Eternal Pity: Reflections on Dying (The Ethics of Everyday Life) by Richard John Neuhaus ISBN: 0268027579 Publisher: Univ of Notre Dame Pr Pub. Date: May, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Courage to Be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Church by George Weigel ISBN: 0465092608 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
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