John S. Dunne (The Mystic Road of Love) writes at the beginning of this splendid and capacious commentary on the Gospel of John: "I think of a Sufi sheik I met on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem who told me and the two young Israeli women who were with me, 'Go deep in your own religion.' " Advice well taken. In each new book, this theologian at the University of Notre Dame adds luster to his expansive Christian faith, polishing it with wisdom from Islam, Buddhism, poets, fairy tale writers, literary figures, and spiritual teachers of all stripes.
Martin Buber called the Fourth Gospel "the gospel of pure relation." Dunne would agree as he reads this paean to life and light and love. The author interprets the parables, the paradoxes, and the signs of the Gospel with great wit and elan. He passes over into the life of Jesus and comes back with fresh meanings. Dunne finds that the man from Nazareth's relationship with Abba, his God, is at "the core of his life." That is why living in the Presence is the key to a fulfilling Christian existence.
Near the end of the book, Dunne quotes Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said while he was in prison: "We can have an abundant life even though many wishes remain unfulfilled." The God of grace and the God of small things that is revealed in the Gospel of John promises us an abundant life. Taking a cue from Bruce Chatwin's work about Australian aboriginals, Dunne concludes with his own lyrical commentary, "Songlines of the Gospel."