Once a couple were discussing about who should make coffee in the morning
The wife said to the husband, “You should do it because you get up first.”
The husband said, “You’re always the one in charge of the kitchen. You should do it!”
The wife replied, “No, you should do it. Besides, it’s in the Bible.”
The husband scratched his head and said , “I never knew that. Please show me.”
So she fetched the Bible, opened the New Testament, and showed him.
At the top of several pages, it indeed said, “HEBREWS”. (Stolen from www.slmedia.org )
Make scripture reading a habit so that nobody tricks you into brewing coffee for them 😉
Joke aside, scripture reading is crucial to building a healthy Christian life. To understand the significance of this habit, we need to have an understanding of what scripture is.
We discussed in the past the “Philosophy of Acceptance” and ended it with an open question : “How do we practice this philosophy in real life?”. I am aiming to give you a more concrete answer to that question through this writing. We will become capable of practicing the Philosophy of Acceptance by making scripture reading a habit of our lives. Fruit of regular scripture reading is the “Peace that God leaves with us, the peace that He wants to give us” (John 14:27)
“Had your law not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction”.
– Psalms 119:92
What is the purpose of Christian life? What does it mean when we say that we are Christians? What would be our answer if a non-believer asked us that question? Probably, the most suitable answer to that question is to say: “to follow the will of God”. Because, following the will of God is to follow His way, and His way will take you to His kingdom. Everything that we do here on earth must serve that purpose. And once we are committed to this purpose, we shall be at peace with everything that life throws at us. That commitment is a gift of God, that peace is a gift of God.
What does this peace mean?
I invite you to consider a slum. A slum is naturally not a pretty sight to imagine. You might think about the shabby and dirty households, spilling sewage, and probably the stench too. Imagine such a crowded slum but you are noticing a small house that stands out in stark contrast to the other houses around it. Even though small, this particular house is still pleasing to look at. There is nothing extraordinary about it, but it still catches your eyes, and you realize that it is pretty. The owner has kept it well maintained within the available means. It is only as big as the houses next to it, but it is neatly painted, roof is tiled, floors are dusted, pots with thriving plants are kept in front of the house. Despite the circumstances that it finds itself in, it has defined its own identity of beauty. A Christian life should also work like this; it should thrive and blossom in whatever circumstance it finds itself in. A life rooted in the inner peace that only God can offer. A peace that is achieved at the fullness of Christian life.
What is the fullness of Christian life?
Pope Benedict 16th said that Holiness is the fullness of Christian life. And he defined holiness in such a way:
“Holiness, the fullness of Christian life, does not consist in carrying out extraordinary enterprises but in being united with Christ, in living his mysteries, in making our own his example, his thoughts, his behavior. The measure of holiness stems from the stature that Christ achieves in us, in as much as with the power of the Holy Spirit, we model our whole life on his.”
– General Audience 13.04.2011
Going by the analogy of the house, we don’t have to be a mansion in a prime location to appear beautiful. We can be a dwelling in a humble neighborhood and still appear extraordinarily pleasing. We can achieve the holiness, and thus the fullness of Christian life, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in. This mindset is not something that we can achieve through physical effort. This peace of mind is a Grace that God gifts us in his infinite mercy. This flow of mercy begins with the Word. The one who seeks out the word seeks out Christ. They will be led to Christ. This journey starts with the Scripture. Hence, the compulsion to convince you all to build a habit of it so that you you may seek Christ through the scripture and receive the peace that He wants to gift you.
Is reading The Bible necessary?
Do we really need to make a habit of reading the scripture in order to achieve this? The Bible as we see it today did not exist in the early churches. The new testament books were formed and copied decades later. Even after getting a shape and a form, the Bible didn’t really reach a significant majority of early Christians and yet they presumably lived a holy and content life rooted in faith. Moreover, even before they had their hands on “Bible”, they were subjected to torment and suffering and they endured it all with a smile on their face and peace in their heart. In the light of this, how can we argue that it is absolutely necessary for a Christian to make a habit of scripture reading?
To be ignorant of the Scripture is to not know Christ (St. Jerome)
St. Jerome, the patron saint of Scripture studies famously asserted that the “ignorance of Scripture is the ignorance of Christ” .
Why is the ignorance of scripture, ignorance of Christ?
“The relationship between the Risen Lord, the community of believers, and the sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians… without the Scriptures, the events of the mission of Jesus and of His church in this world would remain incomprehensible…The Bible, as sacred Scripture, thus speaks of Christ and proclaims him as the one who had to endure suffering and then enter into his glory (cf. v. 26). Not simply a part, but the whole of Scripture speaks of Christ. Apart from the Scriptures, his death and resurrection cannot be rightly understood. That is why one of the most ancient confessions of faith stressed that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas” (1Cor15:3-5). Since the Scriptures everywhere speak of Christ, they enable us to believe that his death and resurrection are not myth but history, and are central to the faith of his disciples.”
– Excerpts from Aperuit Illis, Apostolic Letter by Pope Francis on 30th September 2019
How could we follow and imitate Christ if we do not understand Him? How could we understand Him if we live in ignorance of the Scriptures?
Bible is full of examples of people who, despite first hand experiences, failed to understand who Christ was. On the way to Emmaus, Jesus uses harsh language to the disciples who didn’t recognize him after resurrection
“Before encountering his disciples, gathered behind closed doors, and opening their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures (cf. Lk 24:44-45), the risen Lord appeared to two of them on the road to Emmaus from Jerusalem (cf. Lk 24:13-35). Saint Luke’s account notes that this happened on the very day of his resurrection, a Sunday. The two disciples were discussing the recent events concerning Jesus’ passion and death. Their journey was marked by sorrow and disappointment at his tragic death. They had hoped that he would be the Messiah who would set them free, but they found themselves instead confronted with the scandal of the cross. The risen Lord himself gently draws near and walks with them, yet they do not recognize him (cf. v. 16). Along the way, he questions them, and, seeing that they have not grasped the meaning of his passion and death, he exclaims: “O foolish men, and slow of heart” (v. 25). Then, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the Scriptures” (v.27). Christ is the first exegete! Not only did the Old Testament foretell what he would accomplish, but he himself wished to be faithful to its words, in order to make manifest the one history of salvation whose fulfillment is found in Christ.”
– Excerpts from Aperuit Illis, Apostolic Letter by Pope Francis on 30th September 2019
Their expectations put them in sorrow and disappointment. They didn’t grasp the meaning of Christ. They had not grasped the Scriptures. They were not prepared to accept the realities of their lives. One could say that the disciples were not in the school of acceptance philosophy (pun intended)
The argument that the Bible did not exist in the early church becomes irrelevant here because the early church had first hand encounters with Jesus. It also had preachers who had authoritative knowledge on His life. Besides, they also had access to the Old Testament.
In the beginning was the Word,
And the Word was with God,
And the Word was God”
John 1:1
The Fruits
Personal
I started reading Bible regularly after Fr. Mike Schmitz started BIY Podcast. I used to read Bible prior to that after my daily rosaries but it didn’t amount to reading Bible with a “thirst” . Even when I started the regular reading, it was very academic as in I was trying to rationalize everything I was reading. The regular reading sort of stopped after around 130 days and I didn’t pick up again for a really long time.
Couple of years ago I read this book in my mother tongue and the passion of the author for the scripture moved me. The author was Hindu but I could see that God had revealed to the author so much and I believe that it was because of his surrender to the God and openness to the Scripture. In his own words “He yearns to be the servant of this tabernacle of truth” . I was motivated to restart my Bible reading but it wouldn’t happen until a year later. There was a slight difference this time that I was no longer reading the Bible with an academic interest but with a desire to listen to the God’s voice. Shortly after I restarted my BIY, I stumbled upon YouTube playlists of an Indian priest who has dedicated his mission to explaining the Bible to common people. I believe this was the very first gift for me because I received a lot of understanding through his preaching videos
“Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures”
Luke 24:45
One thing that this priest keeps emphasizing on is that the only thing we need to do in our life is to seek Christ and everything else that is needed in our lives will be provided. And to seek Christ, we shall come to the Scriptures. Even though I started listening to his videos only a few months after I restarted the scripture reading, I could already relate to what he was conveying. I had felt a cloud clear over my mind in things concerning my work just a few months into the new habit. I had struggled for around 3 years at my current job but things have been better by several degrees since last year. I was no longer able to understand even simple things that used to be really easy for me in the past and I was even at a point of thinking about quitting my job and quitting software engineering altogether.
Another fruit that I continue to experience are the ways in which God is giving me clarity in faith related things. To give a specific example, reading from the book of Isaiah suddenly revealed to me that the prophecies about Jesus was always there in front of my eyes.
Vellathooval Stephen
He was a communist terrorist from our hometown state in India and was involved in the guerrilla movement that terrorized many parts of central and southern India in the 80s and 90s and early 2000s. While incarcerated in jail for a police station attack and murder of cops, Stephen picked up a Bible belonging to his cell mate and fellow guerrilla Philip Prasad. The Bible touched Stephen and he experienced a conversion of his heart. By the time he had finished his sentence, he was a changed man and had abandoned the path of violence. He spent his later life for social causes and evangelization. A few years before he passed away, he gave a very detailed interview to a tv channel in our language detailing his life as a guerrilla and explaining why he was terribly wrong in the path that he chose.
Bali Nine
Bali 9 is the story of 9 drug Australian strugglers arrested in Indonesia. It might sound like a morbid story but the end of it was an amazing testimony of God’s grace given to those who are seeking it. The alleged leaders of the group Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed along with 6 other prisoners who were also facing death penalty for drug trafficking. Chan and Sukumaran had turned to the Bible while on death row and converted to Christianity in the jail. Their conversion was no small feat. They had repented the mistakes of their youth and developed a mindset to focus on the present. They were grateful even on the face of a certain and imminent death waiting for them. They trained fellow prisoners in skills and personality development, preached, and always held an air of positivity around them. They walked to the execution range with no fear on their face after having consoled their families. They refused to be blindfolded, and faced the firing squad while singing “Amazing Grace” . They had found God in the scriptures and the God gave them solace in their final moments.
What does the Church say about the need for the habit of Scripture reading?
The Church says, go read your Bible darn it!
No, seriously. There is a misconception that Catholics are not encouraged to religiously read the scriptures. Partially this misconception can be attributed to the defense against the protestant argument of sola scriptura. Catholics hold Tradition and Scripture with reverence. However, to say that Catholics are not encouraged by the church to read the Scripture is terribly wrong.
Beginning with the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII, there have been a lot of measures intended at an increased awareness of the importance of the word of God and the study of the Bible in the life of the Church. This lead to the specific promulgation of the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum. Pope Leo XIII wrote an encyclical, named Providentissimus Deus, on the study of the Holy Scripture. While speaking in lengths about the virtues and gifts of the Scriptures, he invites all the faithful to get into the habit of Scripture reading.
“There are not a few Catholics, men of talent and learning, who do devote themselves with ardor to the defense of the sacred writings and making them better known and understood. . . . We cannot but earnestly exhort others also, from whose skill and piety and learning we have a right to expect good results, to give themselves to the same praiseworthy work. It is our wish and fervent desire to see an increase in the number of the approved and persevering laborers for the cause of Holy Scripture”
– Excerpts from Providentissimus Deus, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, 18th November 1893
“The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s body… for in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life… it has power to build you up and give you your heritage among all those who are sanctified (Acts 20:32; see 1 Thess. 2:13)”
– Excerpts from Dei Verbum, Vatican II
In continuation to the spirit of these intentions, Pope Benedict XVI called a synod of bishops in 2008 on ‘The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church”, and issued the Apostolic Exhortation ‘Verbum Domini’ in which he invites the faithful to study with reverence the Holy Scriptures
“Indeed, the Church is built upon the word of God; she is born from and lives by that word. Throughout its history, the People of God has always found strength in the word of God, and today too the ecclesial community grows by hearing, celebrating and studying that word”
– Excerpts from Verbum Domini, Apostolic Exhortation by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Francis took it a step further and instituted the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time of the liturgical year devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the word of God.
Practical tips on reading the Bible
Always use a book mark 😉
“Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures”
Luke 24:45
Our efforts will be futile if God doesn’t open our minds to understand what He wants to tell us. Therefore, we must approach the scriptures with a prayerful heart and a thirst to hear His voice.
“Who is able to understand, Lord, all the richness of even one of your words? There is more that eludes us than what we can understand. We are like the thirsty drinking from a fountain. Your word has as many aspects as the perspectives of those who study it. The Lord has colored his word with diverse beauties, so that those who study it can contemplate what stirs them. He has hidden in his word all treasures, so that each of us may find a richness in what he or she contemplates”
– St. Ephrem
The Pharisees and Sadducees in the time of Jesus were academically well versed in the Scripture, and yet they failed to grasp the reality of Jesus in their times. This was also true in the case of disciples. Many of them had their mind so closed that it took them a while even after resurrection to see the Reality of Christ.
Academic Curiosity in itself is not a bad thing. For, well learned academics can be assets to the mother church. Pope Leo XIII invites the faithful in this direction
“A man who is well grounded in the testimonies of the Scripture is the bulwark of the Church.”And if we come to morality and discipline, an apostolic man finds in the sacred writings abundant and excellent assistance; most holy precepts, gentle and strong exhortation, splendid examples of every virtue, and finally the promise of eternal reward and the threat of eternal punishment, uttered in terms of solemn import, in God’s name and in God’s own words.”
It is probably the best to study the Bible under counsel so that we do not fall into the pitfalls of opening our minds to an over reliance on our intellect and thus closing it to the grace of God.
“…In earlier times the contest was chiefly with those who, relying on private judgment and repudiating the divine traditions and teaching office of the Church, held the Scriptures to be the one source of revelation and the final appeal in matters of Faith. Now, we have to meet the Rationalists, true children and inheritors of the older heretics, who, trusting in their turn to their own way of thinking, have rejected even the scraps and remnants of Christian belief which had been handed down to them. “
– Excerpts from Providentissimus Deus, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, 18th November 1893
Conclusion
Through the habit of an open minded scripture reading, we will be able to accept the grace of the revelation and God will speak with us. We will understand Christ and His mission. We will be made capable of imitating Him in our lives and form a mindset around Him.