The Gospel of John has been examined from many different perspectives, but a comprehensive treatment of the theme of worship in this Gospel has not yet appeared. John Paul Heil offers a contribution toward a remedy of this deficiency by analyzing the entire Gospel of John from the perspective of its various dimensions of worship. The aim is to illustrate that three different but complementary dimensions of worship - confessional, sacramental, and ethical - dominate this Gospel. Indeed, these different types of worship represent the ways one expresses and demonstrates the faith that includes having divine life eternal, which is the stated purpose for writing the signs Jesus did in this Gospel - "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing, you may have life in his name" ( John 20:31).

The Gospel of Matthew encourages and inspires its audience to practice the true, authentic, and holistic worship required for believers in Jesus to live in the kingdom of Heaven. In accordance with all that Jesus taught and exemplified regarding authentic worship, believers are invited to complement their worship of God by worshipping and praying to Jesus, who, as God's beloved Son, represents 'God with us'. They are also invited to complement their ritual worship - especially the Baptism and Eucharist - instituted for them by Jesus, with an ethical worship that extends to others, especially to disciples, children, and 'the least ones' with whom Jesus identifies himself, the mercy God desires for a holistic worship. Indeed, a compassionate mercy toward all is the distinctive and noteworthy hallmark that characterizes the theme of worship in the kingdom of Heaven, according to the Gospel of Matthew.

'1-3 John' treats the three letters of John as a unified epistolary package. Taking a thorough and scholarly approach, John Paul Heil proposes two important contributions to the study of 1-3 John. First, he presents new comprehensive chiastic structures for each of the three letters of John based on concrete linguistic evidence in the text. These chiastic structures serve as the guide to a better understanding of for whom John's epistles were meant, and why they were written. Secondly, it treats these letters from the point of view of their worship context and themes. Not only were 1-3 John intended to be performed orally as part of liturgical worship, but together these three letters plead with their audience to engage in a distinctive kind of ethical worship. The three letters of John are most concerned with giving their audience the experience of living eternally by the worship that consists of loving God and one another.

The Letters of Paul as Rituals of Worship places the epistles of Paul the Apostle in their original context as epistolary rituals of worship. Paul is rightly considered a great missionary, evangelist, teacher, preacher, and pastor; but people often ignore the fact that his letters were written to be performed publicly in a liturgical assembly. The letters frame the issues and problems that Paul addresses through them within the context of public worship. Heil analyses each of the thirteen letters attributed to Paul with these considerations in mind, and offers an innovative new approach that gives the reader a greater understanding of the original purpose and meaning to Paul's letters. Using liturgical and ritualistic language Paul worships through the letters themselves, addressing the audience about theological concepts, particular problems and pressing concerns. Understood in the biblical tradition that dynamically combines liturgical and ethical worship, Paul's letters transcend their immediate context and become meaningful for the moral worship of everyday lives outside the liturgical assembly. John Paul Heil is Professor of New Testament at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He is the author of 'Ephesians: Empowerment to Walk in Love for the Unity of All in Christ' (2007). 'When Heil calls the thirteen letters of Paul 'rituals of worship', he means that each is written as a script to be performed for a community gathered for worship over which Paul presides through the letter, thereby evoking and sharing in the prayer of his audience. Heil also explores how the language of the letters uses imagery from temple worship metaphorically, to interpret Christian life itself as worship. Heil manages to provide a fresh, pastoral reading of the Pauline corpus as a whole'. Dennis Hamm, S.J., Department of Theology, Creighton University

In his commentary, John Paul Heil presents two new proposals regarding Paul's letter to the Galatians. First, he demonstrates an entirely new chiastic structure embracing the entire letter, based on strict linguistic and textual criteria rather than on conceptual or theological themes. This chiastic structure accords with the view that Galatians was originally performed orally in a setting of communal worship. Second, Heil offers a new proposal for a key theme that runs throughout Galatians, as expressed by the subtitle of this book - 'Worship for Life by Faith in the Crucified and Risen Lord'. Here, 'worship' is considered to be a comprehensive concept that includes liturgical, cultic, or ritual worship as well as the moral behaviour that is to complement it as ethical worship in accord with the biblical tradition. 'Life' refers both to the present way of living as well as to future eternal life. 'Faith' refers to the acceptance of divine grace available to the believer because of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Description: John Paul Heil presents an original analysis of the theme of worship in the book of Revelation guided by a new illustration of its comprehensive chiastic structure. The worship that Revelation exhorts and enables is in the divine Spirit of prophetic witness against all forms of idolatrous worship on earth in favor of a true, heavenly, and universal worship of the Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb, for an eternal and heavenly life. The audience begins this worship in the eucharistic supper into which Revelation leads them by inviting them to respond to the promise of Jesus, ""Yes, I am coming soon,"" with ""Amen Come, Lord Jesus "" They thereby affirm and welcome the coming of the Lord Jesus, the exalted sacrificial Lamb, to the eucharistic supper that anticipates his final coming and the divine grace, the gift of eternal life, of the Lord Jesus that is intended to be the destiny of all--""The grace of the Lord Jesus with all ""

About the Contributor(s): John Paul Heil is Professor of New Testament at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He is the author of The Letter of James: Worship To Live By (2012).

Synopsis: This book proposes a new and comprehensive chiastic structure as well as a new unifying theme for the Letter of James. In accord with this structure that organizes its oral performance, the words "worship to live by" express what the letter as a whole is exhorting its audience to adopt. "Worship" includes not only liturgical worship but also the ethical behavior that complements it, so that the result is a holistic way of worshiping God. And the words "to live by" embrace the worshipful conduct by which to live out presently one's birth to a new life as a believer before the final coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, with a view to the future eternal life to be granted at the last judgment as the outcome of such worship. In short, the Letter of James urges its audience to practice the worship to live by now in order to live eternally. Endorsements: "Although others have observed chiastic patterns in the Letter of James, John Paul Heil focuses upon macro- and microchiastic units determined primarily by linguistic parallels rather than thematic ones. At the heart of James, as revealed by its structure, Heil proposes a new unifying theme; that of 'worship to live by.' Provocative and clearly written, this book deserves consideration by all those interested in contemporary analyses of the 'right strawy epistle.'" --Alicia J. Batten, PhD Professor, Religious Studies Department, University of Sudbury Author, What Are They Saying about the Letter of James? (2009) "In his latest monograph, John P. Heil takes the reader on an innovative journey through the text. Positing the letter to be composed of a series of microchiasms . . . within an overall macrochiastic arrangement of its content, Heil brilliantly makes the case that James has written an epistolary homily . . . designed for oral performance with the goal of persuading the audience to adopt 'worship to live by.' This book is a treasure trove of insight that will leave the reader surprised how easy it is to follow and accept Heil's conclusions." --Peter Spitaler, ThD Associate Professor, New Testament Interim Chair and Director, Graduate Program, Villanova University Author, Universale Sunde von Juden und Heiden? (2006) "In his most recent work, John P. Heil offers a decided contribution to studies on the Letter of James. Based on previous research into chiastic structures within a number of New Testament letters . . . Heil demonstrates similar chiastic structures within the Letter of James. Heil takes seriously James's oral performance as a sermon delivered within the context of a worshipping community. This study offers unique insight into the Letter of James through its call to practice a holistic way of worship." --Fr. Patrick J. Hartin, PhD Professor of Religious Studies, Gonzaga University Author, James (2003) Author Biography: John Paul Heil is Professor of New Testament at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He is the author of The Letters of Paul as Rituals of Worship (Cascade, 2011).