Amy E. Richter

Cleansed Lepers, Cleansed Hearts

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Shellberg’s work offers an important contribution to the study of Luke’s perspective on the inclusion of Gentiles in God’s kingdom. Her detailed investigation of the concepts of lepra and katharizō in various contexts of the evangelist’s milieu is, by itself, a valuable resource for students of the gospels. Here, it facilitates an insightful and convincing proposal of how Luke construes and integrates these realities to serve a crucial dimension of his narrative rhetoric across his two-volume work.” —Karl Kuhn Lakeland College “In this careful study, grounded in her dissertation research, Dr. Pamela Shellberg reinterprets the notions of leprosy, clean, and unclean in Luke–Acts. She applies this to a major turning point for Christianity’s spread in Acts, the conversion of the Gentile Cornelius. By studying the Lukan term lepra in the Septuagint and ancient medical texts, she differentiates its meaning from contemporary understandings of leprosy. I highly recommend this fresh study.” —William S. Kurz, SJ Marquette University “Clearly argued and well-written, Cleansed Lepers, Cleansed Hearts offers insights that will be helpful to preachers and pastors as well as teachers and students of Luke-Acts. Pamela Shellburg’s insights about lepra and cleansing in Luke–Acts can help any of us who are faced with the challenge to interpret texts about Jesus’ miraculous healings correctly and make meaningful connections between these stories and notions of acceptability and inclusion in our faith communities today.”

Songs of Gems and Bones

Arts & Literature

“Michelle Rebidoux’s poems sing of gems scattered by a divine lover in earth and sky, sea and soul. They evoke an ache in our bones for the God whose treasures seem ever present yet always elusive. Take these poems and turn them towards the light. They sparkle and call forth prayer that we may dwell in God and God in us, even in our very bones.”