Luke

They say love comes from the most unexpected places; I found mine hiding in my bushes from the cops. My life before Luke was a carefully structured routine. It was predictable and organized, just the way I like it. Some would call it boring, but I call it smart self-preservation, and if there's one thing that could threaten to bring it all crashing down, it's Luke van Beek. He swept into my world like a tropical cyclone, all hot and chaotic, and tore down my safeguards. Now I can't seem to rid myself of this charming, larger-than-life, ridiculous man. He's invaded my personal space, my mind, and my bed. He's tempting me in ways I haven't been tempted before and I'm going to have to teach him a lesson about what happens to naughty boys when they misbehave. But can my last remaining boundary, the wall I've built around my heart, withstand the man who lives to break all the rules? Either way, it seems, my life after Luke will never be the same.

They say love comes from the most unexpected places; I found mine hiding in my bushes from the cops. My life before Luke was a carefully structured routine. It was predictable and organized, just the way I like it. Some would call it boring, but I call it smart self-preservation, and if there's one thing that could threaten to bring it all crashing down, it's Luke van Beek. He swept into my world like a tropical cyclone, all hot and chaotic, and tore down my safeguards. Now I can't seem to rid myself of this charming, larger-than-life, ridiculous man. He's invaded my personal space, my mind, and my bed. He's tempting me in ways I haven't been tempted before and I'm going to have to teach him a lesson about what happens to naughty boys when they misbehave. But can my last remaining boundary, the wall I've built around my heart, withstand the man who lives to break all the rules? Either way, it seems, my life after Luke will never be the same.

Mikeal Parsons, a leading scholar on Luke and Acts, examines cultural context and theological meaning in Luke in this addition to the well-received Paideia series. This commentary, like each in the projected eighteen-volume series, proceeds by sense units rather than word-by-word or verse-by-verse. Paideia commentaries explore how New Testament texts form Christian readers by attending to the ancient narrative and rhetorical strategies the text employs, showing how the text shapes theological convictions and moral habits, and making judicious use of maps, photos, and sidebars in a reader-friendly format.

Mikeal Parsons, a leading scholar on Luke and Acts, examines cultural context and theological meaning in Luke in this addition to the well-received Paideia series. This commentary, like each in the projected eighteen-volume series, proceeds by sense units rather than word-by-word or verse-by-verse. Paideia commentaries explore how New Testament texts form Christian readers by attending to the ancient narrative and rhetorical strategies the text employs, showing how the text shapes theological convictions and moral habits, and making judicious use of maps, photos, and sidebars in a reader-friendly format.

For the church fathers the Gospels did not serve as resources for individual analysis and academic study. They were read and heard and interpreted within the worshiping community. They served as sources for pastoral counsel and admonition for those who were committed to the Way. Although Matthew and John were generally the preferred Gospels, Luke, because of his particular interests and unique contributions, took pride of place during the Christmas season as well as during Easter and other major feasts. During the early patristic period, the tradition of continuous reading (lectio continua) through the Gospels developed, such that over a course of time a complete Gospel was read in sections, and sermons were preached on the readings either at weekly or midweek worship and Communion liturgies or during morning and evening prayer services. Among such sermons that have survived, this commentary includes selections from Origen and Cyril of Alexandria. Aside from sermons, we find that the fathers addressed exegetical issues in theological treatises, pastoral letters, and catechetical lectures. Among these, as in other Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volumes, readers will find materials ranging from East to West and from the first to the eighth centuries. Among well-known fathers cited are Ambrose, Athanasius, Augustine, the Cappadocians, John Chrysostom, John of Damascus, and Bede the Venerable. Among lesser-known fathers are John Cassian, Philoxenus of Mabbug, and Theophylact. This volume opens up a treasure house of ancient wisdom that allows these faithful witnesses, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, to speak with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today.

For the church fathers the Gospels did not serve as resources for individual analysis and academic study. They were read and heard and interpreted within the worshiping community. They served as sources for pastoral counsel and admonition for those who were committed to the Way. Although Matthew and John were generally the preferred Gospels, Luke, because of his particular interests and unique contributions, took pride of place during the Christmas season as well as during Easter and other major feasts. During the early patristic period, the tradition of continuous reading (lectio continua) through the Gospels developed, such that over a course of time a complete Gospel was read in sections, and sermons were preached on the readings either at weekly or midweek worship and Communion liturgies or during morning and evening prayer services. Among such sermons that have survived, this commentary includes selections from Origen and Cyril of Alexandria. Aside from sermons, we find that the fathers addressed exegetical issues in theological treatises, pastoral letters, and catechetical lectures. Among these, as in other Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volumes, readers will find materials ranging from East to West and from the first to the eighth centuries. Among well-known fathers cited are Ambrose, Athanasius, Augustine, the Cappadocians, John Chrysostom, John of Damascus, and Bede the Venerable. Among lesser-known fathers are John Cassian, Philoxenus of Mabbug, and Theophylact. This volume opens up a treasure house of ancient wisdom that allows these faithful witnesses, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, to speak with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today.