Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: First and Second Thessalonians
Overview
This final volume in the successful Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture New Testament series interprets First and Second Thessalonians from within the living tradition of the Church. Nathan Eubank recovers interpretations of these Pauline letters from the ancient and medieval church as he explores their historical and theological significance. This volume, like each in the series, is supplemented by features designed to help readers understand the Bible more deeply and use it more effectively in teaching, preaching, evangelization, and other forms of ministry.
The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (CCSS) responds to the desire of Catholics to study the Bible in depth and in a way that integrates Scripture with Catholic doctrine, worship, and daily life. The series will include seventeen volumes, offering readable, informative commentary on each book of the New Testament. The CCSS implements the theological principles taught by Vatican II for interpreting Scripture “in accord with the same Spirit by which it was written”—that is, interpreting Scripture in its canonical context and in the light of Catholic tradition and the analogy of faith (Dei Verbum 12).
The CCSS is packed with features designed to help readers use the Bible more effectively in teaching, preaching, evangelization, and other forms of ministry. Each volume provides exegesis as well as reflection and application sections. Cross-references link each passage to the Catechism, the Lectionary, and related biblical texts. Sidebars present information on the background of the text and on how the text has been interpreted by the Church. Abundant quotations from saints and Church Fathers enable readers to glimpse the continuity of Catholic tradition. Each volume includes a glossary, a list of suggested resources, an index of pastoral topics, and an Index of sidebars.
- Integrates Biblical studies with Catholic doctrine, worship, and daily life
- Provides exegesis as well as reflection and application sections
- Includes introduction to authorship, literary unity, historical context, theological themes, and contemporary relevance
Top Highlights
“in Isa 43 God promises to gather all the exiled people of Israel, leading them home” (Page 105)
“The principal error in the treatment of 1 Thessalonians is in failing to recognize that this passage is about the final return and decisive victory of God, an event that early Christians called ‘the coming of the Lord’ (4:15). Paul’s description of the living being ‘raptured’ refers to the moment on the last day when the living will join the dead to be with Christ forever. Instead of describing the disappearance of Christians from the world, this passage looks forward to the day when Jesus will ‘come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,’ as the Nicene Creed puts it.” (Page 111)
“Just as divine love is the root cause of Israel’s election and subsequent deliverance from Egypt in the exodus, so too it is divine love that has brought the Thessalonians into the family of God.” (Page 39)
“he trusted that the Holy Spirit would enable Christians to give thanks to God regardless of the circumstances” (Page 130)
“‘Rest’ in these texts refers not to sleeplike oblivion but rather to relief from the trials of this life” (Page 147)
The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series aspires to fuse solid biblical scholarship with sensitivity to Catholic faith and tradition. This volume by Nathan Eubank is a prime example of what achievement of that worthy goal should look like. He probes the background and content of Paul’s Thessalonian correspondence with great clarity and with full awareness of current scholarship on the historical, literary, and theological dimensions of the text, while at the same time opening the meaning of these Pauline letters for the community of faith. An excellent work.
—Donald Senior, CP, president emeritus and professor of New Testament, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago
I hope I am not the only Christian who has found Thessalonian correspondence to be strange, preferring other Pauline letters. Nathan Eubank’s erudite commentary has cured me! Eubank shows how Paul sets forth a vision of Christians as the family of God, called to grow in love and holiness, in need of instruction about the hope of resurrection and the day of the Lord, and facing persecution and suffering. Not only that, Eubank cites Augustine, Bernard, Catherine of Siena, C. S. Lewis, Cardinal Journet, and others to show how the teachings of Paul echo richly through the ages, and he demonstrates how historical-critical and theological erudition unite to open our eyes to the word of God. These letters are written for us today!
—Matthew Levering, James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary
This fine commentary makes the fruits of ancient and modern interpretation available in a nuanced, attractive, and welcoming format. Fair-minded presentations and assessments of alternative critical views empower readers to form their own judgments at every step, while constantly returning to the task of hearing the text on its own terms—which necessarily means in and to its abiding ecclesial setting. This latest contribution to the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series compellingly exemplifies (Gadamer’s insight) that the interpreter’s job is never ‘just’ critical but inescapably switched-on and self-engaging, above all for the community whose text this is: application is integral to understanding.
—Markus Bockmuehl, Dean Ireland's Professor in the Exegesis of Holy Scripture, Keble College, University of Oxford
- Title: First and Second Thessalonians
- Author: Nathan Eubank
- Series: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (CCSS)
- Publisher: Baker
- Publication Date: 2019
- Pages: 224
- Christian Group: Catholic
- Resource Type: Commentary
- Topic: 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians
Nathan Eubank (PhD, Duke University) is associate professor of New Testament at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana. He previously taught at the University of Oxford and is the author of Wages of Cross-Bearing and Debt of Sin: The Economy of Heaven in Matthew’s Gospel.