This may sound strange
coming from a minister, but I
really never knew much
about the Bible growing up.
Sure, I went to Sunday
school every week, but we
spent a lot more time gluing
sequins to cardboard
crosses than we did delving
into scripture. I had a Bible
story book that told some of
the more child-friendly biblical
tales. (And also some
less child-friendly ones: I was
fascinated by the story of
Samson, whose eyes were
gouged out.) I memorized
the twenty-third psalm and
learned to sing the books of
the bible in order (I can still
do it), and in Sunday school
we would usually read a
verse or two. But I never
really got a handle on what
the different books of the Bible were, or where to find
the familiar parts, or what to
make of the rest. Wisdom
books, epistles, apocalypses…
it was all Greek to
me!
In my youth group experience, a talented lay leader helped us learn how to wrestle with biblical texts. Rather than having someone tell us what it said, we were encouraged to study and think and question and pray and explore, and scripture began to take on new meaning as I was given the opportunity to interpret it for myself.
In college, I learned a little
more about the Bible in
some of my religion courses; I
started to learn about the
historical context: the monarchy,
the Babylonian exile,
the Roman Empire. I learned
how to find the Jordan River
on a map, and I figured out
that there’s not much snow in
Bethlehem. In seminary, I finally (!) undertook the task of reading the whole thing, and I learned biblical Hebrew and Greek, as well as different interpretive methods. But none of that means much if it's just an irrelevant old book... I came, eventually, to see scripture as an ancient witness to the Living God. Interpreting together with congregants and seminarians, asking the question, "what does this mean for this community, right now?" was the key that finally unlocked the doors of scripture for me. I
began to find joy in being
part of a People of the
Book.
I still don’t know everything
about the Bible, but I love
being part of a tradition that
is gathered around the life of
Jesus and the witness of
scripture. I love turning the
stories and poems and letters
over and over, seeing
them take on new meaning
as I approach the texts from
different standpoints in my
life, using different methods,
with different communities,
reflecting on different events
and issues in our contemporary
world. One of the founders
of congregationalism,
John Robinson, told the passengers
of the Mayflower
that there is always “yet more
light and truth to break forth
from God’s word." I guess a more contemporary take on that is the UCC slogan: "God is Still Speaking!"
God of Word and Wisdom, help us to hear your message for us today in the ancient words of scripture. Bless us with words of challenge, comfort, and promise. We ask this in the name of Christ, the Word made flesh. Amen.
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