The Passion of Jesus and the Passion of Women

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Barbara Reid Examines the Passion of Jesus and the Passion of Women

Minneapolis (November 12, 2007)—Discussions of the meaning of Jesus’ passion are at a creative high point, in part because of popular events like Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, but also because of a groundswell of interest in contemporary biblical scholarship.

In Taking Up the Cross: New Testament Interpretations through Latina and Feminist Eyes, New Testament scholar Barbara E. Reid brings her critical and compassionate eye to the different ways the New Testament writings describe Jesus’ death.

Here Reid pays attention to the role of women in the accounts of Jesus’ passion and observes that some of the interpretations of Jesus’ death in the New Testament open us up to life and liberation, while others have been used to perpetuate cycles of violence and victimization.

She also orchestrates a chorus of women’s voices, from Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and the United States, speaking to the countless ways that the cross has been invoked to control and diminish them, and to their rediscovery of the cross as a symbol of emancipation and dignity.

Reid discusses five distinct ways of understanding Jesus’ death, and shows that each holds the potential to bring life and connection as well as the potential for oppression and harm. She moves from the biblical text to the lived experience of women in cultures where the cross has been central to the way suffering and death have been understood. A model of feminist and liberationist biblical interpretation, Taking Up the Cross reads alongside women for whom the cross of Jesus has indeed been a matter of life and death.

Contents:

Introduction

1. A Life for Others

2. Obedient to God

3. Prophetic Martyr

4. Healer, Reconciler, Forgiving Victim

5. Birthing New Life

Abbreviations

Notes

Select Bibliography

Index

Barbara E. Reid, O.P., is Professor of New Testament Studies at Catholic Theological Union and author of a number of books, including The Gospel According to Matthew (2005), Parables for Preachers, Year A; Year B; and Year C (1999–2001), and Choosing the Better Part? Women in the Gospel of Luke (1996).

Taking Up the Cross: New Testament Interpretations through Latina and Feminist Eyes

By Barbara E. Reid, O.P.

Item No: 978-0-8006-6208-3

Format: Paperback, 263 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches

Price: $16.00

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