Hearing Earth’s Call: Life and Livelihood in First John

ECOLOGY & JUSTICE SERIES

First John is not immediately thought of as one of the environmentalist texts of the Bible, but Rodolfo Felices Luna’s fresh approach to its themes of life and love reveal a rich inheritance for both eco-critical readings of scripture and faithful Christian action for environmental well-being. Here, Luna explicitly challenges interpretations of First John that only consider the human while ignoring our place in the whole household of creation. He deftly and accessibly takes up Pope Francis’s calls for an integral ecology in the life of faith, animating our reading of and living from scripture.

Rodolfo F. Luna is associate professor of sacred scripture, Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, TX. He earned his PhD from Université de Montréal, Canada. His research spans the Johannine literature and the early evolution of Christian thought and origins. He is the author of two books, both in French, Le quatrième témoin. Initiation à la lecture de l’évangile spiritual (2011) and Voici le message. La structure littéraire au service de l’annonce dans la Première épître de Jean (2010). An active member of the Catholic Biblical Association, his recent work in eco-critical hermeneutics marks an important integration of Pope Francis’s ecological vision and biblical studies for the twenty-first century.