Of Bookshelves and the Text
Lent 2B
Gen. 17:1-7,15-16; Mark 8:31-38
3/8/09
Lorraine Ljunggren

        How many of us here today have ever browsed the shelves of a religious bookstore or browsed the shelves on 'religion and spirituality' in a general bookstore?

        Well, when we do so, what are we seeking? I mean, beyond the fact that we may be trying to find a book by a particular author. When we take into our hands a volume about religion or spirituality to read, what do we hope to find between the covers of the book? Are we seeking practical knowledge such as the history of a world religion or something about biblical languages? Are we seeking to learn more about methods to enhance our prayer lives? Are we seeking something rather more intangible such as wisdom or insight into the Divine?

        When we take into our hands a Bible to read, what are we seeking? Notice, I said, 'when' not 'if we take into our hands a Bible.' An important distinction.

        “The great theologian Martin Buber, in a lecture in 1926, admonished his listeners: '…Read the Bible as though it were something entirely unfamiliar, as though it had not been set before you ready-made. … Face the book with a new attitude as something new. … Let whatever may happen occur between yourself and it. You do not know which of its sayings and images will overwhelm and mold you. … But hold yourself open. Do not believe anything a priori [that is, based on what you may already believe or know]. Read aloud the words written in the book in front of you; hear the word you utter and let it reach you.'” (quoted in Synthesis, Mar. 2009)

        “Read aloud the words written in the book in front of you; hear the word you utter and let it reach you.” (ibid.)

        When I read scripture today, I do so differently than I did as a child or as a teenager or even when I was a younger adult. When I read it today, I try to do what the theologian suggests – I try to let the words reach me – reach into me – into my mind and my heart and my soul. Note, I said 'try.' Sometimes I rush because I think there is something more important I need to be doing; but I'm not sure that's true. Aside from the quiet of prayer time, I'm not sure there is anything more foundational I need to do as part of my life-long Christian formation than to engage the stories of our faith.

        Some among us have probably read the Bible cover to cover – possibly more than one time. Though reading from Genesis straight through to Revelation may not be the best order in which to read the Bible – it wasn't written in that order. But, whether we're younger or older, long-time church-goers or new to the experience, taking time to thoughtfully and prayerfully read books of the Bible is an important part of the journey of faith. It's because the books that make up the Bible tell us something about the ways in which people from long ago encounter and experience God. Not all of the stories are age-appropriate to the youngest of our children. So, parents, read the Bible ahead and then with your children.

        Now, as we live the Lenten journey this year, I would ask you all to consider doing a spiritual exercise using the Gospel of Mark. It is the shortest of the four canonical Gospels at only 16 chapters long and it is the one on which we focus in Year B of our Sunday lectionary – the Gospel readings we generally do this year. I say generally, because for the next few weeks we'll also engage John's Gospel.

        As the first-written-Gospel it gives us the earliest picture, if you will, of Jesus. While many of the epistles, or letters, in the Christian Testament pre-date the Gospels, their purpose isn't to show us Jesus the way the Gospels do.

        So, I want to ask you all to read Mark. If you decide to do it in one-sitting, that will result in one experience. If you decide to do a chapter a day or half a chapter a day or a few of the stories a day, that will result in a different experience. I would recommend going through Mark slowly at first and then re-reading it from start to finish would prove to be an interesting spiritual exercise.

        The Jesus I meet today in the Gospels reveals God to me in ways plain and in ways mysterious. While I know scholars debate the content of the Gospels – who said what to whom and when or even if something was actually said by a particular character in the stories. Remember there are no documentary cameras rolling to capture the actual events of Jesus' life nor were cameras trained on the biblical writers day in and day out. It is important to study how the Bible came to be and it is important to have a good study Bible which includes solid scholarship on what we do think we know about the texts. When and why the books were written and things about the communities in which the various books were written are all important background information.

        But, my friends, in the final analysis, it always boils down to us and the text. And when we read any book, any book, we bring to the experience our own expectations – often influenced by our families of origin, or by the people with whom we associate outside our families, or by the world at large. But, I also believe we bring to the text our own hopes, specifically our hope that God is real and that God cares about us, and that in opening ourselves to the stories of the faith, our faith will be sparked or strengthened, renewed or rebuilt. Experience tells me that engaging the text is also a risky business because in coming face to face with Jesus in the Gospels we will come face to face with God. And that, my friends, can alter our lives forever.

        For example, the texts we have before us today are filled with reassurance and with challenge. In Genesis we find ourselves in the middle of the unfolding saga of Abram and Sarai. We find ourselves smack dab in the midst of a conversation between God and a human being the tradition tells us becomes the forebear of many nations. God enters into a covenant – a promise – with Abram and Sarai. In the process their names are changed indicating that their lives are about to be altered in ways they cannot yet even imagine. The covenant will be a blessing to Abraham and Sarah and their descendents forever! God says it is an everlasting covenant. So, unless we want to say God doesn't tell the truth, we better respect the covenant God still has with the Jewish people to this day and to all offspring of Abraham. And while God may change the Divine Mind, I don't believe God breaks promises. Otherwise I'd live in fear of the promise we have through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection to be God's people as well.

        From this amazing text we turn to Mark's Gospel and are caught short. Peter has just confessed he believes Jesus to be Messiah – the Anointed One of God – the Christ. Then, as Jesus and the disciples continue walking towards Caesarea Philippi, Peter freaks out when Jesus explains to the disciples that the way he lives his life is going to bring him head-on into the powers-that-be in Jerusalem and he will end up being killed. I can understand why Peter would freak out. I probably would have done the same thing because I probably would be like the other disciples and not connect the dots. Jesus' ministry is not only about being in a loving and faithful relationship with God. Jesus' ministry speaks volumes about being how we are to be in relationship with our sisters and brothers in the world around us. And, Jesus cannot stand idly by while all around him people suffer, especially when people suffer needlessly because of human greed and selfishness.

        The text shows us plainly that following Jesus will challenge our minds and hearts and souls. Because if we take the text seriously in showing us how God calls us to live our lives, then we cannot be quiet in the face of injustice any more than Jesus can. And, because Jesus' prediction in this part of Mark comes true, we can expect the powers of our time to react to protect the status quo. And, if we back down, then the status quo wins! If we stay the course and keep working to eliminate injustice, there will be a reward! We just might not be the ones to experience it. Others might witness personally the fruits of our labors.

        The text, in essence, asks us, “For what will it profit [us] to gain the whole world and forfeit [our lives as God would have us live them]?”

        So, consider the spiritual challenge of engaging the texts of scripture. And, remember, “Let whatever may happen occur between [ourselves] and [the text]. [We] do not know which of its sayings and images will overwhelm and mold [us]. … But hold [ourselves] open. … Read aloud the words written in the book in front of [us]; hear the word [we] utter and let it reach [us].” (ibid.) Amen.

©2009 Lorraine Ljunggren