The Family
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 49, No. 1 – Fall 2006
Managing Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By James L. Resseguie. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2004. 195 + xi pages. Softcover, $19.95.
This thought-provoking and highly practical book is one of three such fruits from James L. Resseguie’s studies that began while teaching literary theory as Fulbright Professor at the University of Iceland in 1990. Resseguie is the J. Russell Bucher Professor of New Testament at the Winebrenner Theological Seminary.
His thesis is as simple as it is applicable: “Luke uses the physical, social, and economic landscapes of the Gospel to develop and elaborate the contours of the spiritual life. Luke challenges us to think critically about the spiritual life and its implications for everyday living (ix).” Thus, Resseguie examines topographical settings in Luke’s Gospel—lake, moun- tain, desert, river—as spiritual watershed experiences: the testing of one’s faith (chap. 1). Yet, claiming every topographical setting has religious meaning, as Resseguie seems to do, likely leads to the claim that some set- tings are contrived—which they are not! Next, a physical journey indicates a spiritual journey, such as Jesus’ long journey to Jerusalem in Luke (chap. 2). Certainly, social landscapes of meal hospitality, family relationships, clothing, and financial decisions are strong indicators of a person’s spiritual condition, as the author plainly points out (chaps. 3–6).
A refreshing benefit of Resseguie’s tools of literary criticism and narrative criticism (with a dash of social-scientific criticism) is his sole focus on what the text says and what meaning can be drawn out of it. Unfortunately, other higher criticisms can become sidetracked in seeking sources of the text that the exegete misses the actual message of the text. Gladly, Resseguie’s mission is both to understand the text and apply it to the life of the modern disciple.
Good wordsmithing makes interesting reading, and Resseguie does not disappoint. For instance, “Simon’s spiritual constipation” (71), the “impotence of abundance” (103), the “propinquity of the poor man” (107), and “peril of plenty” (108) wed both good word economy with vivid word pictures.
Some of this ground has been well-traveled today: Luke’s emphases on the themes of general reciprocity (4, 11, 26, 110–12) and reversal of fortune (47–49), as well as his use of such literary tools as chiasm (31, 62, 106) and parallelism (48, 57). Yet, the author draws insightful observations on the use of a number of literary tools, some lesser known: rhythmic pat- tern (38–39, 64–65), repetition (40), rhetorical strategies (47), asyndeton (64), parataxis (65, 71), and a preponderance of pronouns (104). However, Resseguie weaves these emphases well into his study of spiritual meaning found in topographical and social landscapes.
Interestingly, the most applicable and potentially convicting chapter—chapter six on conspicuous consumption—seems to be the one most indebted to other sources. The first endnote of this chapter credits the author’s indebtedness to George Ritzer and Juliet B. Schor (155). However, Resseguie does cite a number of other sources in this chapter and every chapter in this book—making good use of today’s major Lukan scholars.
