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Vol 10 No 1 2023: A Forum for Theology in the World
Anthony J Kelly’s passionate and faith-filled book continues his long-standing story-telling practice. Although not exactly a ‘story’, it depends upon the fundamental story of the Christian phenomenon to engage with all who may have the good fortune to take this book in their hands.
It is from a graced experience of a friendship and collaboration over many years that I introduce readers to this remarkable book. I can only point to several elements in the book that make it unique. At the heart of any assessment of the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus lies the question: what sort of life did Jesus live, and what did he say and do that led to his eventual execution? For many years, in lectures, conferences and retreats, Tony has sketched his ‘life of Jesus’ in what he called a ‘meditation’. His sketch has always left a profound impression. This book’s opening section, ‘Preparation: The Way of Jesus’, makes it available for a wide reading audience.
Once ‘The Way of Jesus’ has been established, Tony imaginatively marries several traditions to follow the narrative of Jesus’ death and resurrection: the Gospel of John, the writings of Paul and the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, and the traditional fourteen stations that form the Catholic practice of the Way of the Cross. Eloquent further commentary is found in a moving use of the Christian Patristic tradition, aptly chosen from the Patristic readings that the ordained ministers of the Catholic Church encounter in their Prayer of the Church. The matrix for the narrative is Jesus’ story as it is told in the Gospel of John. The sophisticated Johannine narrative enables Tony to lead his reader through a moving retelling of the Paschal events. One could say that Tony’s story is that of the Gospel of John.
A ‘story’ is a succession of events along a timeline, featuring events, characters, encounters, etc. But all stories have a meaning. We can call the ‘meaning of a story’ its discourse. While Tony re-tells the Johannine story, by setting it within other literary and ecclesial practices, he expands its discourse. Herein lies the startling originality of this book. — Francis J Moloney, SDB. Preface
Anthony (Tony) Kelly, a priest of the Redemptorist Order, undertook doctoral and post-doctoral studies in Rome, Toronto and Paris. For many years he was involved in Yarra Theological Union in Melbourne, and was President of YTU for ten years. Formerly President of Australian Catholic Theological Association. Past Chair of the Forum of Australian Catholic Institutes of Theology. Tony was Head of Sub-Faculty of Philosophy and Theology at the Australian Catholic University from 1999 to 2004. In February 2004, Tony was appointed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II to the International Theological Commission.
