SPIRITUAL GROWTH--August 2010

Reading Scripture


One of the most often suggested spiritual disciplines is the recommendation that one read the Bible daily. But how? Yes we do know how to read, but do we? If we think of Scripture as the living word of God, the how we are to hear that living word seeks explanation. Part of the answer I believe lies in how we read holy text. Of course we all have learned various ways to read depending on the nature of the material: a novel we rapidly consume to hear the story, a piece of good literature we linger over to appreciate the choice of words, a scientific text we carefully analyze to determine validity, a history book we immerse ourselves in the picture to imagine actually being there, a news account we scan to be properly informed. Time spent, attention to detail, over-all imagery, and personal investment all vary as we move through the different types of writings we read.

Reading the Bible can fit into many of those various ways to read and I suspect we have all read it with numerous different attitudes, even though we may not have thought about how we read at the time. I invite you to consider how you read and perhaps to try some new ways. By changing the level at which we approach the Word we can find new meaning and direction. God can speak. I offer some questions to consider as you read, questions that I hope will move you into various levels of understanding and deeper levels of hearing.

First, ask, “What does the text mean?” If it were a textbook what notes would you take? If it were a novel what would be the plot of the story? If it were a history book what questions would you ask to verify the account? As a philosophical or theological tract, what is the position advocated? But a living word has meaning below meaning. So next begin to ask, “What does the text reveal”? The Bible was written by a variety of humans and they are a part of the words; what can we know about the author’s life with God from what we’ve read? What does the text reveal on a deeper level about the content discussed? Finally and I think most significantly as you read what does the text reveal about you, the reader? Where do you identify with the passage? What descriptions seem to be you and what seem to be not you? Third “What does the text say?” A living word also has something to say to us today, something to say to our community, something to say to our world. What message do you hear and how will you respond?

Some perhaps more esoteric questions outside the basic format for sacred reading discussed above might open doors for you. These have jarred some locked doors for me. How is the text a picture of the author’s spiritual journey and how is his journey mine? How is the text a statement to the community to whom the writings are directed of its reason for being? And how is it such a statement to our communities? And finally who is the God who is speaking and how is it the God you know?

Blessed reading
Caroline