Barbara E. Reid OP – författare

The parables of Jesus are puzzling sayings and stories with world-transforming potential. Parables for Preachers offers an understanding of how parables work and a fresh variety of possible meanings not only for Jesus's original audience and for the early Christians for whom Matthew, Mark, and Luke wrote but also for contemporary Christians as well. The Gospel parables are analyzed in the order in which they appear in the Lectionary, making this book an indispensable resource for preachers, teachers, catechists, liturgy planners, and Bible study groups.

The parables of Jesus are puzzling sayings and stories with world-transforming potential. Parables for Preachers offers an understanding of how parables work and a fresh variety of possible meanings not only for Jesus's original audience and for the early Christians for whom Matthew, Mark, and Luke wrote but also for contemporary Christians as well. The Gospel parables are analyzed in the order in which they appear in the Lectionary, making this book an indispensable resource for preachers, teachers, catechists, liturgy planners, and Bible study groups.

The parables of Jesus are puzzling sayings and stories with world-transforming potential. Parables for Preachers offers an understanding of how parables work and a fresh variety of possible meanings not only for Jesus ' original audience and for the early Christians for whom Matthew, Mark, and Luke wrote but also for contemporary Christians as well. The Gospel parables are analyzed in the order in which they appear in the Lectionary, making this book an indispensable resource for preachers, teachers, catechists, liturgy planners, and Bible study groups.

The Gospel of Matthew carries important lessons on the formation of community and of Jesus as authoritative Teacher--lessons that helped the early Matthean population relate to both the Jewish and Christian communities of which they were composed.The Gospel According to Matthew provides Gospel text (New American Bible translation) along with Barbara E. Reid's commentary, to aid in the interpretation and use of this Gospel today. As Reid demonstrates, this Gospel continues to bring Vision and hope to Christians throughout the ages.Reid stresses the importance of the Gospel of Matthew as the first book in the New Testament, possibly the first written Gospel, and the one most often used in the early church. Providing both the text and commentary, Reid addresses important questions such as the author's identity and sources, setting and Gospel translation.Sections are The Origins of Jesus (1:1-4:11)," "The Beginnings of the Galilean Ministry (4:12-10:42)," "The Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:28)," "Varying Responses to Jesus(11:1-16:12)," "Jesus and His Disciples on the Way to Jerusalem (16:14- 20:34)," "Jerusalem; Jesus' Final Days of Teaching in the Temple (21:1-28:15)," "Finale: Back to Galilee; Commission to the Whole World; Jesus' Abiding Presence (28:16-20)." Also includes discussion questions.Also available with Little Rock Scripture Study Set: The Gospel According to Matthew"

"Remain in me, as I remain in you."Jesus' disciples are given this command in John's gospel, and it is a command that extends to every one of his followers, including us. We deepen this mutual indwelling—we in Christ and Christ in us—each Sunday through the word and at the tale.In Abiding Word, Barbara Reid, OP, takes the Sunday experience to every day with accessible weekly meditations on the lectionary readings of year. This collection of articles, which includes Scripture readings for Sundays and solemnities followed by reflections, allows readers to meditate on the connection between the sacred text and their daily lives. Living with the word day by day invites us into a closer relationship with Christ, the God who became flesh.Barbara Reid is known for her contributions to "The Word," a widely read column in America magazine. Abiding Word showcases some of her finest entries.

The church's cycle of scriptural readings for the liturgy offers believers an opportunity to immerse themselves in the word of God. It is a very real and tangible way of responding to the call of Jesus: "Remain in me, as I remain in you."In Abiding Word, Barbara Reid, OP, takes the Sunday experience to every day with accessible weekly meditations on the Lectionary readings of the year. This collection of articles, which includes Scripture readings for Sundays and solemnities followed by reflections, allows readers to meditate on the connection between the sacred text and their daily lives. Living with the word day by day invites us into a closer relationship with Christ, the God who became flesh.Barbara Reid is known for her contributions to The Word, a widely read column in America magazine. Abiding Word showcases some of her finest entries.

The church's cycle of scriptural readings for the liturgy offers believers an opportunity to immerse themselves in the word of God. It is a very real and tangible way of responding to the call of Jesus: Remain in me, as I remain in you."In Abiding Word, Barbara Reid, OP, takes the Sunday experience to every day with accessible weekly meditations on the Lectionary readings of the year. This collection of articles, which includes Scripture readings for Sundays and solemnities followed by reflections, allows readers to meditate on the connection between the sacred text and their daily lives. Living with the word day by day invites us into a closer relationship with Christ, the God who became flesh.Barbara Reid is known for her contributions to The Word, a widely read column in America magazine. Abiding Word showcases some of her finest entries.

Because the Gospel of Luke includes more stories about women than any other Gospel, many find it is the most helpful in the search for equality for women in the Church today. However, feminist interpreters have discovered that Luke's portrait of women is ambiguous at best and hazardous at worst. Choosing the Better Part? focuses on the sayings of Jesus and on the passages in the Gospel of Luke in which women figure as characters. It suggests that these stories be reinterpreted and reconsidered from a feminist perspective, so that readers may know how to choose the better part" toward equality and inclusivity.While there certainly are women disciples in Luke and Acts, their role is presented by the third evangelist as clearly different from that of the men. They are portrayed primarily as silent and passive. Their ministry is carried out behind- the-scenes, supporting the more visible, public ministries of the male disciples. This commentary shows that there is more than one way to read the biblical tradition and that it matters vitally how one reads it.Choosing the Better Part? examines a number of possible approaches to the texts (critical, literary, and narrative) and uncovers their presuppositions and their consequences helping both women and men, particularly those who preach and teach the Scriptures, to do so in a way that will promote a Church of equal disciples, where gender differences no longer dictate ministerial roles.Reid has written this work not as the definitive interpretation of the Lukan stories of women, but as an aid in critical biblical study, coupled with reflection on experiences of the global community and reliance on the Spirit to "choose the better part" to bring fullness of life for al. Barbara E. Reid, OP, holds a PhD in biblical studies from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and is assistant professor of New Testament studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Her scholarly interests center on Luke- Acts,Paul, and feminist interpretation of Scripture. Her most recent articles appeared in Biblical Research, The Bible Today, and New Theology Review."

Standing at the start of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew provides a bridge from the Jewish world awaiting a Messiah to the emerging Christian world of Jesus and his followers. This Gospel introduces us to Jesus as the Master Teacher whose words of instruction are captured in large teaching sections. Part One covers Matthew 1:1−16:28, from the birth of Jesus through much of his public teaching life, to the first prediction of his passion. Commentary, study and reflection questions, prayer and access to recorded lectures are included. 5 lessons.

Beginning with the Transfiguration of Jesus in chapter 17:1, the Gospel of Matthew continues to reveal through Jesus’ teachings what it means to be a disciple. This second part of the study of Matthew reveals a growing tension as Jesus ministers around Jerusalem, is arrested, crucified and rises to new life. Revealed as Emmanuel (God with us) at the start of the Gospel, Jesus will promise his continuing presence as the disciples are commissioned at the close of the Gospel. Commentary, study and reflection questions, prayer and access to recorded lectures are included. 4 lessons.

The book of Leviticus provides two different theologies related to God’s presence within ancient Israel. Leviticus 1–16 was written by an elite caste of priests (P), and Leviticus 17–26 (H) was added to the book to “democratize” access to God. While the Priestly work has hardly inspired lay readers, the Holiness Writings provide some of the most inspiring and well-known verses from the Bible. This volume shows how gender dynamics shift between the static worldview of P and the dynamic approach of H and that, ironically, as holiness expands from the priests to the people, from the temple to the land of Israel, gender behaviors become more highly regulated. This complicates associations between power and gender dynamics and opens the door to questions about the relationships between power, gender, and theological perspectives.

2026 Catholic Media Association Third Place Award, Scripture – SeriesDeuteronomy, the final book of the Torah, is ostensibly addressed to males but it does not mean it lacks a concern for women. In this commentary on Deuteronomy, Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos provides serious feminist engagement with the complete text, paying specific attention to the effect it may have on women’s perspectives, and considers ways the text highlights female presence or absence. In this commentary, van Wijk-Bos encourages readers to question not only the patriarchal practices reflected in Deuteronomy, but also modern misogynist and androcentric assumptions that they may bring to the world of the text. Divided into eleven sections, Deuteronomy offers insight for our present time, as well as an opportunity to hear new voices, examine cultural and gender-biased interpretations, and draw other conclusions to open up new avenues of understanding God and ourselves.

A woman called blessed for killing a Canaanite general; another called “Mother in Israel” for leading troops into war; several other mothers absent when their children need them; a judge, Deborah, with a proper name and a recognized place for public counseling; a single woman, Delilah, who seduces and conquers Samson. The book of Judges features an outstanding number of women, named and unnamed, in family roles and also active in society, mostly objects of violent dealings between men. This volume looks not only at women in their traditional roles (daughter, wife, mother) but also at how society at large deals with women (and with men) in war, in strife, and sometimes in peace.

This volume, using multiple methods, seeks to bring together the best scholarship and insight—Jewish and Christian, past and present—that has contributed to our understanding and appreciation of the biblical book of Ruth. As a feminist commentary, it is particularly sensitive to issues of relationship and inclusion, power and agency. In addition to the voices of the primary co-authors, Alice Laffey and Mahri Leonard-Fleckman, the volume incorporates and integrates important contributing voices from diverse contemporary social contexts and geographical locations. In sum, the commentary seeks to allow Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz to speak again for the first time.

The Second Book of Kings—a book whose very title seems to assert the prerogative of male rule—is in fact filled with fascinating female characters as well as issues related to gender. In this commentary, Song-Mi Suzie Park argues that an interrogation of the masculinity of YHWH, Israel’s deity, functions as the driving force behind the narrative in 2 Kings. While the sufficiency of YHWH’s masculinity is affirmed by his military and reproductive prowess, it is also challenged and deconstructed through the painful defeats that end the book. Through a series of close readings, Park elucidates how the story of Israel’s monarchic past in 2 Kings unfolds through a process of continual reformulation of masculinity and femininity in relation to YHWH and Israel.

In this volume, Deborah Appler and Terry Ann Smith offer a sustained investigation and feminist critique that moves beyond traditional historical and theological interpretations of Ezra-Nehemiah. Their intersectional analysis engages themes of gender, power, economics, and social justice. Tensions between group inclusion and exclusion are evident in Ezra-Nehemiah, and the authors bring attention to the complexities associated with identity formation and boundary-making for a repatriated community. Their volume amplifies often overlooked voices in the text and offers insight into how issues of faith, marginalization, and communal solidarity complicate what it means to "come home." Their collaborative analysis of Ezra-Nehemiah demonstrates how ancient and modern communities grapple with community formation and identity amidst ever-evolving social and cultural challenges.

Blindness by bird excrement, seven husbands murdered by a love-sick demon, a father with the corpses of his sons-in-law interred in the backyard, and a magical fish. These farcical elements make the book of Tobit a striking work of humorous fiction in a long Jewish tradition of storytelling. But it is more than just an entertaining read. We might well laugh, but we cannot laugh too hard, for we also sympathize with the characters’ sincere struggles to understand God’s plan for their lives. This commentary considers the book of Tobit through a specifically feminist lens, discoursing on topics fundamental to the human experience in the story, such as grief, death, family relationships, belonging to a minority community, disability issues, and contending with why bad things happen to good people.

2023 Catholic Media Association First Place Award, Scripture – Academic StudiesThe striking scene of Judith cutting off Holofernes’s head with his own sword in his own bed has inspired the imaginations of readers for millennia. But there is more to her story than just this climactic act and more to her character than just beauty and violence. This volume offers a comprehensive examination of gender ideologies in the book of Judith, from the hyper-masculine machinations of war and empire to the dynamics of class in Judith’s relationship with her enslaved handmaid. Overall, this commentary investigates the book of Judith through a feminist lens, informed by critical masculinity studies, queer theory, and reception criticism.

Many readers are convinced that the Psalms are hopelessly “masculine,” especially given that seventy-three of the 150 psalms begin with headings linking them to King David. In this volume, Denise Dombkowski Hopkins sets stories about women in the Hebrew Bible alongside Psalms 42–89 as “intertexts” for interpretation. The stories of women such as Hannah, Rahab, Tamar, Bathsheba, Susanna, Judith, Shiphrah, Puah, and the Levite’s concubine can generate a different set of associations for psalm metaphors than have traditionally been put forward. These different associations can give the reader different views of the dynamics of power, gender, politics, religion, family, and economics in ancient Israel and in our lives today that might help to name and transform the brokenness of our world.From the Wisdom Commentary series Feminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students, will aid all readers in their advancement toward God’s vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all.The aim of this commentary is to provide feminist interpretation of Scripture in serious, scholarly engagement with the whole text, not only those texts that explicitly mention women. A central concern is the world in front of the text, that is, how the text is heard and appropriated by women. At the same time, this commentary aims to be faithful to the ancient text, to explicate the world behind the text, where appropriate, and not impose contemporary questions onto the ancient texts. The commentary addresses not only issues of gender (which are primary in this project) but also those of power, authority, ethnicity, racism, and classism, which all intersect.Each volume incorporates diverse voices and differing interpretations from different parts of the world, showing the importance of social location in the process of interpretation and that there is no single definitive feminist interpretation of a text.

2021 Catholic Media Association Award second place award in academic studiesIn this close reading of Psalms 90–150, Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford discovers meanings in the Psalms that were “there all along” but hidden beneath layers of interpretation built up over the centuries. Approaching the canonical storyline of the Psalter with feminist-critical lenses, she reads against the dominant mind-set, refuses to accept the givens, and seeks to uncover a hidden/alternate/parallel set of societal norms. DeClaissé-Walford attends to how context affects the way hearers appropriate the Psalter’s words: women, for the most part, hear differently than men; women of privilege differently than women living in poverty. Her interchanges with students and scholars in post-apartheid South Africa bring the biblical text alive in new ways for today’s believers.

2019 Association of Catholic Publishers Book of the YearIn this volume, Alice Ogden Bellis considers the book of Proverbs as a structural whole, the sages having designed it in such a way as to make positive statements about women and to undercut the negative ones. By grouping Proverbs together around common issues, the reader is called to consider the perennial moral questions of wealth and poverty, diligence and laziness, and integrity and corruption, as well as the relationship among these values. The result is much more complex and has greater depth than the random list of bromides that most of Proverbs is often thought to be. This volume opens up a multi-dimensional spiritual puzzle.

2021 Catholic Media Association Award third place award in academic studiesQoheleth, also called Ecclesiastes, has been bad news for women throughout history. In this commentary Lisa Wolfe offers intriguing new possibilities for feminist interpretation of the book's parts, including Qoheleth's most offensive passages, and as a whole. Throughout her interpretation, Wolfe explores multiple connections between this book and women of all times, from investigating how the verbs in the time poem in 3:1-8 may relate to biblical and contemporary women alike, to noting that if 11:1 indicates ancient beer making it thus reveals the women who made the beer itself. In the end, Wolfe argues that, by struggling with the perplexing text of Qoheleth, we may discover fruitful, against-the-grain reading strategies for our own time.

Arguably the biggest blockbuster love song ever composed, the Song of Songs holds a unique place in Jewish and Christian canons as the “holiest” book, in the minds of some readers, and the sexiest in its language and imagery. This commentary aims to interpret this vibrant Song in a contemporary feminist key, informed by close linguistic-literary and social-cultural analysis. Though finding much in the Song to celebrate for women (and men) in their embodied, passionate lives, this work also exposes tensions, vulnerabilities, and inequities between the sexes and among society at large—just what we would expect of a perceptive, poignant love ballad that still tops the charts.From the Wisdom Commentary series Feminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students, will aid all readers in their advancement toward God’s vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all.The aim of this commentary is to provide feminist interpretation of Scripture in serious, scholarly engagement with the whole text, not only those texts that explicitly mention women. A central concern is the world in front of the text, that is, how the text is heard and appropriated by women. At the same time, this commentary aims to be faithful to the ancient text, to explicate the world behind the text, where appropriate, and not impose contemporary questions onto the ancient texts. The commentary addresses not only issues of gender (which are primary in this project) but also those of power, authority, ethnicity, racism, and classism, which all intersect.Each volume incorporates diverse voices and differing interpretations from different parts of the world, showing the importance of social location in the process of interpretation and that there is no single definitive feminist interpretation of a text.

Though the five poems of Lamentations undoubtedly refer to the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE, the multiple voices that narrate unspeakable suffering and labor to make sense of the surrounding horror do so at women’s expense.In the opening chapters, a prevailing metaphor of Jerusalem as a woman (Woman Zion) portrays a weeping widow, abandoned and alone, who soon becomes the target of blame for the downfall of the city and its inhabitants. Vague sexual improprieties craft the basis of her sinfulness, seemingly to justify her immense suffering as punishment. The damning effect of such a metaphor finds company in subsequent accounts of women, young girls, and mothers—all victims of the destruction recorded therein. But this feminist interpretation of Lamentations does not stop at merely documenting the case against women; it also demonstrates how such texts can serve as sources of strength by lifting up portraits of courageous resistance amid the rubble of misogynist landscapes.

Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah are among the so-called deuterocanonical books of the Bible, part of the larger Catholic biblical canon. Except for a short article in the Women’s Bible Commentary, no detailed or comprehensive feminist commentary on these books is available so far. Marie-Theres Wacker reads both books with an approach that is sensitive to gender and identity issues. The book of Baruch—with its reflections on guilt of the fathers, with its transformation of wisdom into the Book of God’s commandments, and with its strong symbol of mother and queen Jerusalem—offers a new and creative digest of Torah, writings, and prophets but seems to address primarily learned men. The so-called Letter of Jeremiah is an impressive document that unmasks pseudo-deities but at the same draws sharp lines between the group’s identity and the “others,” using women of the “others” as boundary markers.

This volume brings gender studies to bear on Micah’s powerful rhetoric, interpreting the book within its ancient and modern contexts. Julia M. O’Brien traces resonances of Micah’s language within the Persian Period community in which the book was composed, evaluating recent study of the period and the dynamics of power reflected in ancient sources. Also sampling the book’s reception by diverse readers in various time periods, she considers the real-life implications of Micah’s gender constructs.By bringing the ancient and modern contexts of Micah into view, the volume encourages readers to reflect on the significance of Micah’s construction of the world. Micah’s perspective on sin, salvation, the human condition, and the nature of YHWH affects the way people live—in part by shaping their own thought and in part by shaping the power structures in which they live. O’Brien’s engagement with Micah invites readers to discern in community their own hopes and dreams: What is justice? What should the future look like? What should we hope for?From the Wisdom Commentary seriesFeminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students, will aid all readers in their advancement toward God’s vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all.The aim of this commentary is to provide feminist interpretation of Scripture in serious, scholarly engagement with the whole text, not only those texts that explicitly mention women. A central concern is the world in front of the text, that is, how the text is heard and appropriated by women. At the same time, this commentary aims to be faithful to the ancient text, to explicate the world behind the text, where appropriate, and not impose contemporary questions onto the ancient texts. The commentary addresses not only issues of gender (which are primary in this project) but also those of power, authority, ethnicity, racism, and classism, which all intersect.Each volume incorporates diverse voices and differing interpretations from different parts of the world, showing the importance of social location in the process of interpretation and that there is no single definitive feminist interpretation of a text.

From the Wisdom Commentary series .This volume offers a womanist and feminist analysis of the books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, attending to translation and textual issues, use of power and agency, and constructions of gender and its significance for the real and metaphorical women in the texts. The unit on Nahum takes an unflinching look at God’s role and rhetoric in the rape of Nineveh and considers implications for the women of Nineveh and Israel and for contemporary readers. Habakkuk is read employing a womanist stratagem, talking back to God. The section on Zephaniah explores the racialized history of interpreting “Cushi” in Zephaniah’s genealogy and the figures of Daughter Zion/Jerusalem. The commentary also assesses these texts as scriptures of synagogue and church, their use and utility. A Jewish feminist reading and womanist hermeneutic accompanies each biblical book.?

Reading Haggai and Malachi in conversation with feminist theory, rhetorical criticism, and masculinity studies reveals two communities in different degrees of crisis. The prophet Haggai successfully persuades a financially strapped people to rebuild the temple, but the speaker in Malachi faces sustained resistance to his arguments in favor of maintaining the priestly hierarchy. Both books describe conflicts among men based upon social class, and those who claim to speak for God find their claims and, with them, God’s presumably unquestionable authority as the ultimate male contested.From the Wisdom Commentary series Feminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students, will aid all readers in their advancement toward God’s vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all.The aim of this commentary is to provide feminist interpretation of Scripture in serious, scholarly engagement with the whole text, not only those texts that explicitly mention women. A central concern is the world in front of the text, that is, how the text is heard and appropriated by women. At the same time, this commentary aims to be faithful to the ancient text, to explicate the world behind the text, where appropriate, and not impose contemporary questions onto the ancient texts. The commentary addresses not only issues of gender (which are primary in this project) but also those of power, authority, ethnicity, racism, and classism, which all intersect.Each volume incorporates diverse voices and differing interpretations from different parts of the world, showing the importance of social location in the process of interpretation and that there is no single definitive feminist interpretation of a text.

2025 Catholic Media Association Honorable Mention, Scripture — Academic StudiesThe book of Zechariah is one of the more obscure books of the Bible. In this commentary on the life of the prophet Zechariah, Leslie J. Hoppe, OFM, explores the Bible through a feminist lens to help contemporary readers appreciate the work of the sixth century prophet and the editors who collected his words and developed his thought regarding the future of the Jewish people. Hoppe further examines the prophet who spoke to people who were recovering from the total collapse of the religious, political, and social institutions that gave meaning to their communal and individual lives. This commentary also offers insight into Zechariah’s belief that the reconstruction of the Jerusalem temple and the reconstitution of its priesthood would open the way for the renewal of Jewish life through a communal life based on ancestral religious traditions.