CDXXVIII – Have A Relationship With Scripture

It occurred to me recently that to read the Bible cover to cover is not, exactly, to know the Bible. I’ve been to talks where a confident Catholic says, “I know my Bible, I have read it 12 times.” And I can’t help but feel as if that misses part of the point.

Of course, reading the Bible cover-to-cover is not a bad endeavor. It is good to read it Chronologically. But the Bible is not a book–not the way other books are books. My priest once told me that the Bible is the “Word made flesh made word,” and I’ve always liked that phrasing. God is present in the scriptures. He is present to us and is speaking to us through the scriptures.

To read the Bible without guidance can be problematic, the way it is not problematic to read any other book on ones own. Any other book, as a work of art, you can get what you want out of it, devise your own interpretations. The Bible you are not free to draw your own conclusions–you are free to make the conclusions of the Bible your own. And that is not easily done, not in one sitting, and not easily on your own. You need something else when you read the Bible. There are many things that serve as that something else, but it stands to reason that there is something.

Consider, by analogy, any friend you have. Let’s say it’s a friend at work, you pass them in the hallways frequently. You tell people, “I know my friend, I see them 10 times a day at work.” But–if you don’t talk to your friend, or spend time outside of work together, what is your friendship? A doctor could tell you your height, your weight, your hair color, the contents of your blood, the contents of your urine, how many bones you’ve broken–but do they know you?

It is important to look at Scripture both as a friend and as a book. Scripture is a book in that you ought to read it, you ought to read it all, you ought to read it often. Scripture is a friend in that you ought to spend time with it, you ought to get to know it, you ought to ask for help and patiently accept it’s answers.

Befriend scripture. Love scripture. Open the book and read scripture, so that you can open and read yourself.

AMDG