How do you approach reading the Bible? This summer we have taken a step back to consider not only the message in various Bible passages, but how we approach reading the Bible as a whole.
Meredith Miller, one of the guides for our current series, reminds us, “Biblical interpretation can be literal, metaphorical, allegorical, moralistic, highly connected to the original context (or not), highly aware of literary genre (or not), or any combination of those, just to name a few…And, Christians wildly disagree on which are best.”
I’m writing this note from the beautiful Aldersgate Camp and Retreat Center in Kentucky where we have a great group of families gathered for Hyde Park Community’s annual Family Camp. It is a long standing tradition to take time away to retreat and re-center on what is most important in life. (We would love for you to join us next summer!) The theme of this week at camp is Dive. It is about diving deep into our relationship with God. This connects with our current sermon series, Centering God, reminding us that until we put God at the center of our life and how we read the Bible, we will miss much of the intent of the Biblical writers.
It is easy to jump to the point we think a Bible story is making. We think we’ve ‘got it’ and then remember that story as a rule or a life directive. We get distracted by the human side of the story or what we know about the story and we forget to listen for God speaking to us through it in new ways today.
If we follow the swimming metaphor from “Dive,” it is easy to think that if we’ve gotten our feet wet or if we’re following the rules, wearing the proper clothing, using correct form, being at the proper location, that we are diving deep. These are all resources, but they are not the same as having a relationship with God.
As we pause and reflect, in doing all of these things, we have to remember the why. The purpose of all of this reading and studying the Bible is not primarily about the rules or the morals, but to know who God is and to grow in our relationship with God. When we make this shift, to consider our reading of scripture as God centered reading and storytelling, we begin to do these things out of love and relationship and opportunity for growing in them.
We want to develop a rule of life that is guided by our relationship with God in real time, today, a relatiwonship that is nurtured by daily conversation (prayer and contemplation), wisdom (scripture and other devotional reading), community (spiritual conversations and gathering with a common purpose), and gratitude (worship).
It is my hope and prayer that we as individuals and a faith community will continue to keep God at the center of all that we do and are.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Suzanne