When the bible made the biggest change in my life, I was reading it without anyone telling me what it said, or said to them. I did not consult scripture commentary or scholars. All you get from that is a lot of information, but your life does not change for the better. You don't become a better follower of Jesus because you know more stuff. At least not for me. I decided back in 1971 to read the bible and see what it said to me. What did it mean to me. If I did not understand something or found a piece that was uninteresting, I just moved on to the next part. I am not on anyone else's spiritual journey. I am on mine. What a book means to them is there journey. If something like the bible is going to make a difference in your life try not to keep it on the level of a class course or book club. I know very little "stuff" about the bible. But what I do know makes a difference in my life.
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Back in high school (pre Vatican II) a nun told my class something like this: "You can read the Bible if you feel you must, girls. But DO NOT TRY to interpret it. Only a priest can do that for you." We've come a long way baby.
ReplyDeleteThis perfectly articulates a vague feeling I've had. I tend to treat scripture like a graduate student--but all my most important thoughts have come in more relaxed readings that give new meaning to whatever's happening in my life. Those moments are worth 1000 little facts.
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