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Bible Sunday
SERMON – 10.15am, Emmanuel Church, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Sunday 25th October 2009
Revd. Canon David Pickering
Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest - from Today's Collect.
I expect I could get into trouble for not have a biblical text today.
After all preaching should be based on scripture.
There is though and interesting verse in this morning's gospel reading.
John 5.46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.
The trouble is Moses did not write about Jesus. You wont find it anywhere in the OT.
But John is not working with proof texts. Rather the authority of scripture lies somewhere much more fundamental. It resides in the overall argument of the whole of scripture. The argument is that the whole of scripture – the whole Mosaic teaching as found here in the OT – reveals God and his redemptive purpose for humanity, and that this revelation is fulfilled in the person, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus.
For us as Christians all Scripture, both Old and New Testament, witnesses to Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the centre of Scripture – its beginning, middle and end.
A phrase that was used some years about the biblical story was that it was salvation history, centred on the key salvation event of the person, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is based on an historical event or events, but not on historical detail or accuracy.
As you may expect, over the years I have taken part in Bible Study sessions. Regularly people would share with the group what had been for them key verses in the Bible that had been important for them at various stages in their lives. These can often be a great source of comfort, strength and encouragement to us in our faith and lives. But they need handling and using with care and caution.
The Bible has many inspiring and beautiful passages and verses. If you look through a book of well known and well used English quotations you will find that most come from the Bible or Shakespeare.
But we need to use the Bible carefully and sensibly.
We tend to think that the Bible was taken literally until the Renaissance, the scientific revolution of the last two or three centuries, or the Biblical Criticism of the last 150 years.
But this may not be the case.
Recently I have been reading 'The Case for God' by Karen Armstrong.
When writing about the fourth century doctor of the Church, St Augustine of Hippo, she writes;(Excuse the rather long quotation)
Augustine was no die-hard biblical literalist. He took science very seriously, and his "principle of accommodation" would dominate biblical interpretation until well into the early modern period. God had, as it were, adapted revelation to the cultural norms of the people who had first received it (Augustine. 'Confessions' 13.15.18.).One of the psalms, for example, clearly reflects the ancient view, long outmoded by Augustine's time, that there was a body of water above the earth that caused rainfall. It would be absurd to interpret this text literally. God had simply accommodated the truths of revelation to the science of the day so that the people of Israel could understand it; today a text like this needs to be interpreted differently. Whenever the literal meaning of scripture clashed with reliable scientific information, Augustine insisted, the interpreter must respect the integrity of science or he would bring scripture into disrepute (Augustine 'The Literal Sense of Genesis' 1.18, 19, 21). And there must be no unseemly quarrelling about the Bible. People who engaged in acrimonious discussion of religious truths were simply in love with their own opinions and had forgotten the cardinal teaching of the Bible, which was the love of God and neighbour. (Augustine 'Confessions' 12.25.35.) The exegete must not leave a text until he could make it "establish the reign of charity," and if a literal understanding of any biblical passage seemed to teach hatred, the text must be interpreted allegorically and forced to preach love.
(The Case for God – Karen Armstrong page 122/3 Knopf edition)
Perhaps a lot to take in at once! So look it up on the website later this week.
It is easy to read the Bible in a superficial way.
Some read it to enjoys literary quality – especially in the English Authorised Version.
Some for its quite amazing stories.
The Bible also provided us with rich and meaningful poetry and is a great source for devotional and worship material.
These are all valuable and legitimate reasons for reading the Bible.
But for the Christian it is mainly the source of our getting to know Jesus as a reality and a meaning for our lives today. This is why it should constantly bring new insights and evaluations of our experiences.
For the Bible to do this we need to take the words of the collect very seriously.
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: (The Bible is a gift from God) help us to hear them, to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them.
It's all too easy to read without hearing what is actually being said, especially in familiar stories, passages and events. How do we "Mark" them, well one way literally? Highlight particular passages, make notes and comments around the text – make it a working Bible. Should need a new copy from time to time.
Another way to "Mark" is to hold the Biblical words alongside present knowledge and understanding. As St Augustine noted the Bible does not stand alone. There is the context in which the various books where written and where they fit into the experiences and events of the contemporary scene. "Learn" Come to know passages that are especially good for our prayers and spiritual life.
Finally, "Inwardly digest"! What a classic phrase. Take words, passages themes to heart.
But above all in relation to the person, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus.
As we may take salt, sugar or other things with our food, we need to take Jesus with our bible reading. Without him it has no value and no real meaning.
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