Francis J. MOLONEY, sdb. Witnesses to the Ends of the Earth. New Testament Reflections on Mission. New York/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2022. Pp. x + 163. $24.95 pb. ISBN 978-0-8091-5591-0. Reviewed by Linda M. MALONEY, Cameron Park, CA 95682.

As a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco, the internationally-known and prolific Australian New Testament scholar Francis J. Moloney has a particular interest in mission. The present book, originally published in 2020 by St. Paul’s Publications in Australia, collects six essays that were most recently revised as presentations to seminars for missioners in Vietnam and Thailand. The author tells readers at the outset that the essays are the fruit of his half-century of biblical study and writing, emphasizing the theme that the resurrection of Jesus is the source of the church’s mission. His special focus in this book is, as he stresses at the outset, that “Basic to the Christian’s missionary vocation is the missionary vocation of Jesus of Nazareth” (p. viii; italics in original).

While that is the overall message, Moloney does not beat the reader’s head with it. He presents fairly straightforward summaries of Paul’s theology as reflected in his authentic letters, and of the four Gospels and Acts, highlighting the aspects that apply to mission (for example, Jesus’ instructions to the disciples he sends out, and the post-resurrection commissioning); each chapter then concludes with a section on “Mission.” A final chapter, and I think the best, is “The Celebration of the Eucharist at the Heart of the Christian Mission: ‘As often as you shall eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes’ (1 Cor 11:26).” All mission has its source and beginning at the eucharistic table.

The author’s extensive engagement with the Gospels is evident throughout, and the notes and bibliography offer an excellent set of references to his previous work that will be especially useful to those wanting to pursue the individual topics further. The opening essay on Paul’s letters, as Moloney writes (p. 2, n. 2), derives from “an earlier version . . . without the focus upon mission” in his Reading the New Testament in the Church. A Primer for Pastors (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015); consequently, the references in that chapter are almost all to the work of other scholars. The order of chapters is: Paul, Mark, Matthew, Luke and Acts, John, and the above-cited chapter on Eucharist as the heart of Christian mission. Acts also lies outside Moloney’s specialization, as is clear from his repetition of certain common errors he takes from other authors, e.g., that being a citizen of Tarsus made Paul a Roman citizen, or that Berenice was King Agrippa’s wife. (The reviewer notes that she says this as one who has just published a commentary on Acts!)

I would recommend this book especially to classes and parish study groups focused on mission; it is very easy to read, but for that reason it calls for dialogue, reflection, and questioning. I welcome Moloney’s emphasis, in his Epilogue, that “more than a biblical study is required” for mission. “The formation of missionaries must embrace many disciplines: anthropology, comparative religions, understanding cultures, the interface between faith and culture, the acceptance of God’s presence in the non-Christian religions, not to speak of the language skills and the psychological balance (and all that entails) required to communicate the Gospel in the missionary’s non-native land. . . . Formation for mission must recognize the diversity that lies at the center of contemporary society, especially in the post-Christian West” (pp. 145–46). This is an essential emphasis, given the truth of a statement at the very beginning of the book that “Vietnam . . . is one of the largest providers of missionaries ad Gentes in the contemporary Roman Catholic Church” (p. ix). The culture clashes occasioned by that fact in U.S. parishes are troubling, to say the least. Both parishioners and clergy are much in need of education in cultural sensitivity.

Finally, I want to commend Frank Moloney for his deft and creative uses of inclusive language: his references to “God’s reigning presence” (instead of “reign of God” or the truly obsolete “kingdom of God”) are most refreshing and worthy of emulation!

Both parishes being “missionized” and those engaged in, or preparing to be engaged in mission will be greatly enriched by a serious engagement with Witnesses to the Ends of the Earth.