One of the inspirations for my book “Who is Jesus Christ? Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew” (coming this September) is the Christology of Pope Benedict XVI. The depths in which the current pontiff has delved into the mystery of Christ is quite remarkable and has helped me in my own understanding of the person of Christ. His book “Jesus of Nazareth” introduced much of the world to his Christology, but he has been exploring the reality of the person of Jesus for decades.

Amy Welborn, author of numerous books and host of the popular “Charlotte was Both” blog, has just published a book entitled Come Meet Jesus: An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI which explores the Pope’s Christology in some depth. I’m sure it will be very insightful. Click on the link of the book title to read more details from Amy.

I received an email today from my editor and he told me that Our Sunday Visitor had decided to change the title of my book (because it was being used in over 10 other books). I admit, my first thought was “No!” But after I saw the new title, I thought “Yes!”

Without further ado, it will be called:

Who Is Jesus Christ?
Unlocking the Mystery in the Gospel of Matthew

I am very pleased with this title because I think it succinctly encapsulates what I am trying to do with this book: help people to know Jesus better through the reading of Sacred Scripture. It also implies that fact that for many, the Bible is a mystery and help is often needed to understand it. Hopefully, come September, help will be on the way.

In my previous post, I listed the various saints, doctors, Fathers, and other Christians whose work I quote in “Who Do You Say That I Am?” As I mentioned in that post, I don’t want to invent any new interpretation or new doctrine; instead, I want to stand on the shoulders of the giants who have gone before us in the Faith.

But the greatest literary giants of Christianity of course are the authors of Scripture itself. These men were theologians of the first order, and unlike any other authors, their work was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the primary source for theology and any Catholic work should be soaked in the Sacred Page. And this is true of any Scriptural study as well: you must use the Scriptures to understand the Scriptures. One must always recognize the context in which a biblical book was written – not only the cultural context, but the canonical context. By placing these books in one Bible, the Church tells us that they are all interrelated on a deep level. So if we want to understand what Matthew is saying about Jesus, we must look also to the other biblical books to see what they also say about Jesus.

With that in mind, here is a list of all the biblical books I quote, along with the number of times the book was quoted:

Old Testament

• Genesis (13)
• Exodus (5)
• Leviticus (1)
• Deuteronomy (1)
• 1 Samuel (3)
• 2 Samuel (3)
• 1 Kings (3)
• 2 Maccabees (1)
• Psalms (5)
• Proverbs (1)
• Song of Songs (1)
• Isaiah (7)
• Jeremiah (4)
• Ezekiel (2)
• Daniel (1)
• Hosea (2)
• Micah (1)
• Zechariah (1)
• Malachi (2)

New Testament

• Matthew (109)
• Luke (8)
• John (9)
• Acts (6)
• Romans (6)
• 1 Corinthians (11)
• 2 Corinthians (2)
• Galatians (4)
• Ephesians (2)
• Philippians (5)
• Colossians (5)
• Hebrews (1)
• James (1)
• 1 Peter (1)
• 2 Peter (1)
• 1 John (4)
• Revelation (4)

I’m happy I was able to include such a wide breath of biblical texts. The only omission that might stand out is that I didn’t quote the Gospel of Mark at all. This is mostly because whenever I had a text which was shared by both Matthew and Mark, I always chose Matthew, since that is the basis of the book. No slight was intended to Mark!

The moral of the story: if you want to understand Scripture, read Scripture!

When I was writing “Who Do You Say That I Am?” I was consciously trying not to say anything “new”. Too often in Scripture studies you find everyone trying to make a name for themselves by advocating some new theory or interpretation that no one has ever heard of before. This will make them stand out and, they hope, help them sell more books. In my view, if a Scripture interpretation is brand new, it is probably faulty. This is because for almost 2,000 years we have had saints, Fathers, doctors and scholars pouring over the words of Scripture – do we really have the arrogance to think that we have some new interpretation that no one has ever thought of?

This does not mean, of course, that old views cannot be said in new ways. I hope I have done this with “Who Do You Say That I Am?”. But always with the recognition that I am standing on the shoulders of those who came before me and that my interpretation of the Holy Scriptures is only an extension or restatement of what they have already taught the Church. Furthermore, I wanted to include the entire Tradition of the Church, not just one aspect of it; so saints from both the East and the West and throughout the centuries have been consulted.

With that in mind, I recently had to go through my manuscript and check all the references to make sure all were properly noted. While I did that, I kept track of the various people I quoted in my book, and I was pleased to see that I was able to include a broad spectrum of Christian voices from both the East and the West and throughout the centuries. Here is the list of people quoted in my book (the number following a name indicates multiple quotations):

• Aphrahat
• St. Augustine (4)
• St. Basil
• St. Bernard of Clairvaux
• Blessed Theophylact
• St. John Chrysostom (4)
• St. Clement of Alexandria (2)
• St. Cyprian
• St. Cyril of Alexandria (2)
• The Didache
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
• Divine Liturgy of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark
• Fyodor Doestoevsky
• Eusebius of Caesarea
• St. Gregory the Great (2)
• St. Ignatius of Antioch
• St. Jerome (3)
• St. John of Damascus
• St. John of Karpathos
• St. John of the Cross
• St. Justin Martyr (2)
• St. Maximus the Confessor
• Origen
• St. Polycarp
• Pope John Paul II
• Pope Pius XI
• Psalm of Solomon
• St. Teresa of Avila
• Theodore of Mopsuestia
• St. Thomas Aquinas

As I mentioned, I was very pleased with the results: I included the voices of a wide variety of Christians and hopefully their voices will allow readers to enter more deeply into the words of Scripture. This list does not, of course, include all the quotations from Scripture in the book, which numbers almost 500 different verses from throughout the Bible. I’ll try to make a list of the different Biblical books I quote as well and post that later.

In the technology world, everyone has been looking forward to Apple’s Tablet device. That wait will soon be over.

In the movie world, everyone has been wondering who will play Bilbo in The Hobbit. Perhaps now we know.

In the Catholic book world, everyone can’t wait for my the Pope’s book about Jesus. Looks like it will soon be released. (You’ll have to wait until September for mine).

One thing I don’t think the average Catholic (or non-Catholic) realizes is how steeped in the Bible are the teachings of Pope Benedict. I have been reading his works for over 15 years now, and one thing you recognize quickly is how biblical his theology is. Furthermore, his pontificate has been marked with numerous calls for laity and clergy to become more intimate with the Word of God. In fact, it has been his teachings that inspired me to write Who Do You Say That I Am?

Recently, Pope Benedict renewed this call when he asked all the faithful for a more prayerful and attentive reading of the Gospels, which are the heart of the Bible. The best way to do this is through Lectio Divina, in which we mediate slowly and carefully on the text in silence. The heart of Lectio Divina is letting the Holy Spirit guide you, as the Pope says, “A purely theoretical, profane reading is not enough in order to reach the heart of sacred Scripture. One must read it in the spirit in which it was written and created.” I encourage everyone to spend at least some time every day – even five minutes – practicing this ancient form of biblical reading.

If you are more interested in the Pope’s biblical theology, be sure to read Scott Hahn’s book Covenant and Communion: The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI. I haven’t read it yet, but I have heard great things about it and I hope to read it soon (if anyone is feeling generous, it’s on my Amazon wish list, and I wouldn’t turn it down as a gift. ).

When writing Who Do You Say That I Am? Encountering Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, I was consciously not trying to write anything “new”; instead, I firmly believe that any interpretation of Scripture must be grounded in our Tradition and consistent with the teachings of the Church. After all, the same Spirit that inspired the Bible also has guided the Church through the centuries.

Pope Benedict made exactly this point recently to the Pontifical Biblical Institute:

A number of people recently have asked me about the status of my book, Who Do You Say That I Am? Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. I turned in the completed manuscript to Our Sunday Visitor back in June, but the book will not be published until September 2010. Why the delay? Our Sunday Visitor publishes a lot of books, and their schedule is to release their books twice a year: in the Spring and in the Fall. Their Spring line-up was already set by the time I turned in my book, so I was put in the Fall 2010 lineup.

Soon my editor will be going through the manuscript and I’m sure giving me a thousand ways to improve it. Right now I am collecting endorsements for the book (BTW, if you are a big muckity-muck Catholic and want to endorse the 2nd-best Catholic book about Jesus in 2010 [Pope Benedict's 2nd volume of "Jesus of Nazareth" being the best of course - but I doubt he'll ask anyone to endorse his book], feel free to contact me!).

So now you know!

I am so seriously excited:

Pope to publish 2nd part of Jesus of Nazareth in spring

I find it quite appropriate that my book and the pope’s will come out in the same year, as the first part of “Jesus of Nazareth” was one of the main inspirations for writing my own book about Jesus.

So if you can only buy one book about Jesus next year, then buy “Jesus of Nazareth, Part II”. But if you can buy two books about Jesus in 2010, buy the Pope’s book as well as “Who Do You Say That I Am?” by your blog host (coming in September 2010). After all, what is more important than knowing Jesus better?

Mark Shea has a nice article over at Catholic Exchange about Pope Benedict’s emphasis on fostering our relationship with Christ over simply following rules (”Benedict is About Relationship with Christ, Not Rules“).

Many people miss this aspect of B16’s pontificate, but it has been an inspiration for my writing Who Do You Say That I Am? My main goal for this book is that Catholics (and all Christians) will use it to know Jesus better and thus develop a deeper relationship with him. Often Catholics cringe when they hear Evangelicals talking about a “personal relationship with Christ,” but the fact is that they are right to emphasize it. Where they err is that they reject many of the gifts Christ has given us to foster that relationship – the Eucharist, the Blessed Mother, even periphery items like Canon Law are intended to deepen that relationship.

There is no dichotomy between Christ and the Church; in fact, the Church is our means in which we draw closer to Christ. As Mark mentions in the article, the elites of this world look at the Church as just another political entity and the rules the Church enforces are just ways to keep the faithful in line. But if you really listen to Pope Benedict’s words, you will see that his whole ministry is an effort to bring us each closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

I just sent off the complete manuscript for Who Do You Say That I Am? Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew to my editor at Our Sunday Visitor! The book will not be published until 2010, but this was a major milestone for me. Needless to say, I’m pumped.

Take time today to read this speech by Archbishop Charles Chaput. It begins:

The Catholic faith is not simply a collection of doctrines and ideas, or a body of knowledge, or even a system of beliefs, although all those things are important. At its root, Christianity is an experience: a life-changing, personal experience of the risen Jesus Christ. Everything else in the writings of St. Paul, and everything else in our life as Catholics, flows from that personal encounter with Jesus Christ. If we truly seek him, then we will always find him. But when we find him, we need to be ready for the consequences, because nothing about our lives can be the same.

This is the underlying theme of my book Who Do You Say That I Am? As Catholics, we highly value the Scriptures, our Tradition, the doctrines of the faith and our liturgy. But all of these are intended to be in service of our personal encounter with Christ; each one should direct us to interacting more deeply with the person of Jesus.

Too often there are two opposing trends in our attitude regarding our Catholic traditions. On the one hand, there are those we say that these traditions prevent a deep relationship with Christ; we need to jettison them and return to a “pure” practice of the faith like in the first century. This, however, is faulty reasoning: by looking to see how our forefathers (and foremothers) in the faith followed Christ we can be given insights into our own discipleship. It is spiritual hubris to think that we can simply follow Christ without any guidance from the giants of the faith that have come before us.

On the other hand, there are those who elevate our Catholic traditions to be the end of our faith, not the means to deepening it. They believe that man was made for our traditions, not traditions for man. This was clearly condemned by Christ himself in the Gospels, but unfortunately it seems to be human nature to elevate our own creations above the Creator.

As Archbishop Chaput reminds us, what we need is to have a new life in Christ – everything we do and believe should be directed towards that goal. It might be painful at times and it might (and probably will) involve suffering, but the result is beyond anything we can imagine.

Today is the 97th anniversary of Our Sunday Visitor, one of the largest Catholic publishers in the country (and publisher of my book to be released next year). Go here to read their history.

Happy Anniversary!

Two new books are being published this year to eager anticipation.

One is The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code. It will continue the story of Robert Langdon and, if Brown’s previous work is any indication, will include depictions of Jesus Christ with no connection to history, Scripture, scholarship or reality. It might also be the most poorly-written bestseller since, well, The Da Vinci Code (yes, I did read it, and I still wish I could have those 2 hours back).

The other is Who Do You Say That I Am? by your blog host (okay, it’s eagerly anticipated in the Sammons household at least). It will contain Scriptural and historical depictions of Jesus that are consistent with the latest scholarship yet also conform to the teaching of Christ’s Church. And I’m hoping it is at least better written than The Lost Symbol, even if it doesn’t sell quite as many copies.

Perhaps I should use this beautiful video to promote my upcoming book on the titles of Jesus:

H/T: Archdiocese of Washington