Sermon - The Rev. Leah D. Schade
Rally Day, September 7, 2008
The Bible – An Introduction
A few weeks ago I attended a training session for the ELCA to be an advocate
for a new initiative called “Opening the Book of Faith”, which is going to be
an effort of the whole church to encourage people to read and study the
bible. Imagine that - Lutherans actually becoming
fluent in biblical literacy! You’re going to be hearing alot about that
in the coming year, and one thing that was suggested at this training session
was to preach a sermon on Rally Day about the bible. Not on any
particular text, but on the bible itself. And I thought, what a great way
to start out the new program year! That’s why this service is designed
the way it is, from the opening litany to the hymns to the bible readings
themselves. It’s all focusing on the Word of God. It’s appropriate,
because this is the day when we kick off our Sunday School which is all about
learning bible stories and, for our older students, learning to read and then
ask questions of the bible itself. (8:30 - For those students
in 2nd grade, and 4th and 5th grade you’re each getting your very own bible
today. 11:00 - For those students in 2nd grade, and 4th and 5th grade you
each got your very own bible today. Stand up and show everyone your
bible.)
I just want to see a show of hands - how many of you have a bible in your
house? Now how many of you have actually opened that bible and read
it? I meant in the last week. (Ha,ha). Why is that? Why do we
have such trouble picking up this book, which is supposed to be the
cornerstone of our faith, and reading it on a regular basis? Author Rolf
Jacobson says that the bible is, “A book that Christians believe is so holy and
inspired that they almost never read it for fear that it might draw them closer
to God and neighbor or change their lives in some other inconvenient way.”
(Jacobson, Crazy Talk, p. 27).
But even if you’ve tried to read through the Bible for the first time, whether
that was seventy years ago, or just seven days ago, you probably started
feeling like you were in some kind of alien landscape, not to mention
overwhelmed at the sheer immensity of the book. I remember the
first time I tried to read straight through the bible. Genesis - no problem.
Exodus - doing fine. Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy - egads. It’s like
wading through a log jam. You keep
getting hit by these long drawn out descriptions of laws and ancient worship
rites and details of holiness codes that are fatally boring.
What you really need is to get the overarching story of the bible, what Bishop
Hanson calls the “metanarrative.” The big picture, the thread of the plot
that takes us thro
ugh the history of the Israelite people right up through the time of Jesus and
the New Testament writers. That’s why we encouraged people to read the
E100 during Lent and Easter - the essential 100 passages of the Old and New
Testaments.
You see the bible is really not just one book. It’s a collection of 66
books - a library, really. In fact, take out the bible from the rack in
front of you and find the table of contents. This collection of 39 Old
Testament and 27 New Testament books is a collection of many
different genres and styles of writing by more than 40 different writers.
There are history books, poetry, letters, prophecies and mysterious writings
about the end of times, not to mention the gospels about Jesus. Did you
know the original languages of the bible are Hebrew and Greek and was written
over a period of about 1500 years? Which may lead you to wonder, how did
we get this collection of books in the first place?
It started out as oral history, meaning that there are ancient stories that no
one knows exactly where they came from. Like some of our fairy tales - we
don’t know their origins. They were passed down from generation to
generation until written language was invented, and then
people began to write them down, first on scrolls, then on papyrus and vellum
pages which were then bound into codices, which are like very big books.
20Copies of the bible had to be done by hand for centuries, until the 1400’s
when Gutenberg invented the printing press, which was
probably the most important development for the bible. Because up until
that time, only the very elite and the most educated priests could read and lay
their hands on the bible. Only when copies could be made en masse was it
possible for the common person to acquire a bible and even learn to read
it. Then it began being translated into the languages of Europe,
including a German version of the New Testament translated by our very own
Martin Luther.
What most of you have in your hand right now is an English edition known as the
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). This is the translation used by most
Lutheran churches because of its gender inclusive language and its faithfulness
to the original Hebrew and Greek text. But if you’ve ever gone shopping
for a bible online or at the bookstore, you know there are literally hundreds
of versions of the bible. The King James Version is the one most people
are familiar with - with the “thees” and thous. It was commissioned by
King James I of England in 1611. But there are many more versions
available. Some are very close translations, and some are paraphrases,
which are easier to read, but not always accurately translated. Some are
basic bibles, some are study bibles. If you’re looking for a good bible,
the publisher Augsburg Fortress is coming out with some good ones early in 2009
to support the “Opening the Book of Faith” initiative.
Now for those of you who have not yet become familiar with how the bible works,
find just the very beginning of the Bible - Genesis 1. You’ll see that
there are big numbers and little numbers. These are the chapters and
verses. None of these numbers existed in the original
texts. But in order to find and reference specific sections and
sentences, these big numbers, the chapters, and the little numbers, the verses,
were added. So you’ll see that Genesis Chapter 1 verse 1 begins:
“In the beginning” (how appropriate!). And not just in the beginning, but
in the beginning, God. In Hebrew, it’s resheeth elohim. In the
beginning God. In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth. Now you know how it all began.
And if you’re one of those people who always goes to the final page of the book
to see how it ends, let’s turn to the last book of the bible, Revelation
22:21. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you all. Amen.
Isn’t that beautiful. We begin with God, and not just God,
but God and the entire creation. And we end with Jesus, and not just
Jesus, but Jesus with you. From the universe right down to little ole
you. And everything in between.
But I will be the first to warn you that what’s in between can contain some
difficulties. You’ll find stories that will make you uncomfortable, laws
that will seem archaic, cultural practices that
will feel outdated, and images that will be unsettling. There’s a lot of
symbolism, mythological content, and historical contexts that can make reading
the bible confusing, annoying and downright weird. Not that there aren’t
some straightforward parts as well. But even they
are fraught with potential difficulties because of the way different
denominations and religious authorities have interpreted them over the
centuries. Those of you who’ve participated in bible study groups know
that if you put five people in a room with a bible, you’ll come up with
five different perspectives, opinions and sometimes disagreements about what a
passage means, and how it applies to our lives. Yes, we all believe that
the Bible “provides God’s truth for our lives but how to interpret that truth
is another question,” Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Bible, p. 15). Even
the bible itself contains contradictions within the texts, passages that seem
to conflict, and voices that do not harmonize.
So with such a huge library, and such a difficult and confusing task within,
why even bother to read the bible at all? This is hard work! I
can’t speak for everyone, but for me, personally, it is the most fascinating
book I have ever read. And the more I read it, the more I study it, the
more it pulls me in to deeper and more nuanced reflection. And I’ve only
been doing this for about 20 years. Someone like Wanda Quay, who is, by
far, the most biblically-educated lay person I’ve ever met, has been studying
the bible for probably 70 years, and she will tell you that no matter how many
times she reads a passage, she always finds something new, depending on the
context in which she reads it, and the people she reads and studies it with.
We believe this is God’s word - inspired by God, written by human beings, and
thus fraught with the complexities, biases, and hidden agendas that affect all
works of human beings. And yet God chose to entrust these words to us,
knowing full well that sometimes we would mess them up, interpret them in a
non-loving way, and just make a mess of things. That’s why we have to
keep coming back at this book to find the message that God is trying to give to
humankind. It is a living, breathing document that takes on new life with
each person who reads it, within each gathering of faithful listeners who seek
to find guidance, wisdom, comfort and hope. Reading the bible can make
you a more virtuous person. It is filled with good and practical
instructions that can help you live a happier and healthier life.
“Reading the Bible will stretch your mind and expand your thinking,” (Complete
Idiot’s Guide to the Bible, p. 8).
It helps you to see God and Jesus more clearly. “And it helps us to see
ourselves more clearly as well,” (Ibid.) The bible holds up a mirror to
ourselves. We see the good, the bad and the ugly. “Part of the
greatness of the Bible is its willingness to show the darker side of humanity,
as well as our potential for godliness.” (Ibid.) The editors who put the
bible together thousands of years ago did not censor out the stories of murder,
rape, incest, drunkenness, betrayal, or war. And, more importantly, they
made sure to include the teachings that show us that we have value, that we are
loved, and that we are to care for the “overlooked” people in society:
children, widows,
orphans, the sick and hungry, and those in prison. And with my focus on
ecotheology, I’m discovering the ways in which the bible speaks about the care
and responsibility we have to the very earth itself.
This book sustains me. This book excites me. This book keeps me up
at night thinking about what it means for me and the rest of creation.
This book puts my racing thoughts to rest with prayers and passages that soothe
my soul. This book wakes me up with questions and
possibilities, and drives me to seek healing for the earth and all the
creatures that dwell therein. The bible does something to me, and yes,
I’m a pastor geek - but this is what I live for - the aha moments when I read
and study and meditate on scripture, and then get to turn those moments into
sermons that help to, hopefully, interpret God’s word in a fresh way for this
particular time and place and group of faithful people.
What does the bible do to you? What does the bible do for you? Have
you shared this with your children and grandchildren? Do they know your
favorite passage of scripture and why it means so much to you? Have you
talked to children and your life partner and your pastor about what passages
you want read at your funeral? Are you looking for a place to
start? Start at the beginning - Genesis. And then start at the
beginning of the New Testament - Matthew. And in the middle, throw in the
book of Psalms. Those are three good places to start, and always good to
come back to, no matter how long you’ve been digging through this library.
You won’t always find answers to every question. But believe this - God
will find you through these words. Because God is within these pages.
Don’t be afraid to pick it up and open it and read it. Read it by
yourself, and read it with a friend and with a group of strangers, and in your
church and on the train and with your children and your loved ones.
Because when you do, your story becomes part of their (flip the pages)
story. You become part of God’s story. God makes you part of the
living Word of God. Amen.