The Gospel of Matthew begins by depicting Jesus as the focus of the history of Israel and ends with Jesus commissioning the creation of a new community composed of people from all nations (the church). The center of the gospel is Jesus the Messiah, but he stands between two communities, Israel and the church. In this study, the author proposes to examine the christology of Matthew's gospel by exploring the theme of Jesus' solidarity with his people, focusing on Jesus' representative role in his relationship both with Israel and the Church. Contents: Introduction: Jesus and His People in Matthew's Gospel; Jesus, The True Son of God; Sonship and the New Community; The Miracle-working Authority of the Son; Like Master, Like Disciple; The Yoke of the Son; The Messiah and His People in Suffering and Glory; The Authority of Christ in His Church; The Christological Transfer of the Kingdom; The Son of Man and His Lowly Brethren; The Faithful Son and the Forgiveness of Sins; Disciples of the Risen Lord; Conclusion: Jesus as the Representative of His People; Bibliography.

Jesus in Solidarity with His People: A Theologian Looks at Mark works from two premises. The first is that the Gospel of Mark is, from beginning to end, an Easter story. And the second is that the category of solidarity provides a contemporary key for understanding Mark's message about Jesus' life and mission. The book argues that the spiritual effectiveness of Mark's story will be determined largely by how much the reader is willing to live, like Jesus, in solidarity with God's people. The opening chapter surveys the range of theological matters that the text invites us to think about. Subsequent chapters return to those issues as they appear in the Gospel text.

This monograph examines the concept of Jesus’ perfection in the Epistle to the Hebrews in relation to the broader theological themes of divine beneficence and divine “philanthropia”. Three times in Hebrews Jesus is described as being perfected (Hebrews 2:10, 5:9, 7:28), and in two of these instances (Hebrews 2:10, 5:8-9) the author explicitly links the theme of Jesus’ suffering to the content of his perfection. By examining representative selections of Greek non-literary papyri, this study argues that the customary application of the Greek verb τελειόω to denote the idea of legal notarization of a public document suggests the more comprehensive idea of official, definitive attestation. Informed by such a notion of perfection as official, definitive attestation, this study argues that the language of Christ’s perfection in Hebrews functions as a christological grammar for reflecting upon the character of Christ. Far from being remotely transcendent, Jesus is characterized instead by divine beneficence and “philanthropia”, by a motivation to draw near to the community of the faithful gathered around his memory. This study argues for the cogency of this proposal based on exegetical grounds, the literary character of Hebrews as an epistolary homily, and the social setting of Hebrews as one characterized by social distress and/or persecution in or near the vicinity of Rome.

Jesuit theologian Jon Sobrino has worked with the poor and suffering in El Salvador for more than 50 years and was one of the original proponents of liberation theology. In 2006 the Vatican issued a Notification critical of aspects of his work. That event has inspired this collection of essays.

Using the paradigm of "solidarity of others" as the central theme of theology, this book shows that it is possible to renew the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of solidarity and recapture the potential of the "body of Christ" as embodiment of this solidarity.

Tenacious Solidarity features essays and new writings from 2014 to 2018. As all of Walter Brueggemann's writing is, the chapters are deeply biblical while also concerned with the identities, practices, and obligations of religious communities in contemporary contexts within the United States. Brueggemann consistently attempts to weave the biblical texts--vested as they are with the authority of a storyteller--into the deep contours of his readers' experiences, in order to foster a tenacious solidarity that might overcome both the psychic numbness cultivated by a 24-hour news cycle as well as the anxious possessiveness nurtured by so many privatized spiritualities. Brueggemann brings the "transformative potential" of the biblical texts to bear on critical contemporary contexts, including but not limited to economic disparities, racial injustice and white supremacy, climate and care for creation, and the power of memory and mentoring. He delves deeply in the Psalms, which he says, "provides a foundational script for living into the fullest and deepest realities of human existence." And he draws from the Prophets his foundational concept of totalism, which he defines as "automated fragmentation of social life such that we habitually and callously disregard our relations with others."

40 days of solidarity with the poor.