Wilfrid J. Harrington

Mark is a brilliant storyteller and a thoughtful theologian, one of whose distinctive traits is his realism. Mark's gospel is a theology of the cross, and before the cross there is nowhere to hide. All human life is there. This book aims to present the Jesus of Mark's faith. Fr Harrington opens with chapters on Mark and on Jesus and then explores the Jesus of this gospel as prophet, as teacher, as healer, as exorcist, and as Messiah. Finally, he returns to the cross: 'On the cross, Jesus shows what it is to be human...He shows us that we are truly human when we accept our humanness, when we face up to the fact that we are not masters of our fate...On its own, humankind has indeed reason to fear. With God, in total dependence on God, there is no place for fear. The resurrection of Jesus makes that clear.' This clear, simply written book will be invaluable to all who preach, teach or simply want to understand better the gospel of Mark.

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In this brief and insightful blueprint for reading and appreciating the Gospel of John, noted scripture scholar Wilfrid J. Harrington, OP, guides the reader through the major themes of the Gospel. John has wholly imposed the Christ of faith upon the earthly Jesus. He has painted an icon. An icon brings out the spiritual significance of the subject. This is the final volume in a series of pastoral commentaries on the gospel which seek to make available the best of scriptural scholarship to the nonspecialist. The series will be of particular interest to preachers, teachers, and those coming to scripture study for the first time. †

“Today, before we Christians begin to read a gospel, we already know the lines of the story. It was the same at the start. The first readers or hearers of each gospel knew the story as well as the evangelist. Each evangelist put a 'spin' on a familiar story. The reader will ask: why is he telling the story like this? One of the joys of studying the gospels is a growing appreciation of the literary sophistication of the evangelists.” —From the introduction In this popularly written, accessible book Wilfrid Harrington explores the Gospel of Mark, which he declares is his favorite gospel, with emphasis on why Mark tells the story the way he does. In part one, the author backs up his appreciation of the literary sophistication of Mark by outlining his technique. He demonstrates that Mark is, indeed, a gifted storyteller and talented writer. In part two, he discusses the centrality of the cross to Mark’s account of Jesus. His theology is a theology of the cross, and Mark’s Jesus is the most human of the gospels. The author admires most the evangelist’s realism. He confirms his conviction that the cross is indeed the heart of Christianity—the cross as understood by Paul and Mark and the author of Revelation. Mark’s theology is a theology of the cross, and Mark’s Jesus is the most human in the gospels. †

Revelation, a prophetic apocalyptic letter, is a profoundly Christian text. Father Harrington is concerned to open up Revelation and to convey its Christian message. After an introduction he provides a new translation of each section of the writing, followed by notes which deal with mattes of text and content that require clarification. He then treats the passage as a whole by discussing its literary character, its theological significance, and its relevance to our situation. Bibliographies direct the reader to important modern studies. Father Harrington (1927-2025), brings his scholarship to the Book of Revelation and conveys its Christian message. He puts the work in its historical and social setting a first-century c.e. province of the Roman Empire and explores its social and religious background and its literary character. Through Father Harrington we hear clearly the challenge of John, the prophet, to the Churches of his time and to ours not to compromise the gospel message.

Revelation, a prophetic apocalyptic letter, is a profoundly Christian text. Father Harrington is concerned to open up Revelation and to convey its Christian message. After an introduction he provides a new translation of each section of the writing, followed by notes which deal with mattes of text and content that require clarification. He then treats the passage as a whole by discussing its literary character, its theological significance, and its relevance to our situation. Bibliographies direct the reader to important modern studies. Father Harrington (1927-2025), brings his scholarship to the Book of Revelation and conveys its Christian message. He puts the work in its historical and social setting a first-century c.e. province of the Roman Empire and explores its social and religious background and its literary character. Through Father Harrington we hear clearly the challenge of John, the prophet, to the Churches of his time and to ours not to compromise the gospel message.