29 June 2006

This picks up directly from Joseph Sittler's reflection from yesterday in "Gravity and Grace."

There developed a body of literature written by a people who had been made a people by that force, and their writings are called the Word of God. The ultimate meaning of Word is not a document; but the documents were preserved by the ancient Hebrews and the early church because they testified, they bore witness, to the force of the Word. The people had experienced it, and they were transformed by it.

The book in my backpack stacked next to this book by Sittler is called "Struggling with Scripture." In so many ways today, some people are trying to come to terms with what we teach about the interpretation and how that interpretation has an impact on how the faithful come to life today. Too often, we overlook this force that moves and creates and changes and whips up life. Rather, there are too many of us who get so caught up in the printed word that we lose some of the Spirit and Life that the written word attempts to unleash for us. So caught up in every dot and dash and comma and single word or even a singular thought, we sever ourselves from that transforming force of the Word that literally shakes up our lives and attempts to move us beyond ourselves. The wonderful storytelling of the Scriptures takes place because the story - no matter what the writing style or literary unit or historical perspective - is able to grab us and show us a dimension of the creative force of the Holy Spirit of our God. We must be willing to struggle with Scripture and take it for more than words on a page that cannot offer us many ways of seeing the Reign of God in more and more brilliant ways. Even those "words" written in stone tell much more of a story for us and for our lives than the few words etched into those stone tablets. I must remember to always pray for those folks who must keep the "word" in such a fixed fashion that it is not able to breathe new life among us.

Connection: It is fine to wrestle with the Scriptures and it is just as important to wrestle with what others say it means or says to us. In that "dialogue" we once again confront a new reality.

Your Spirit breaks through the many ways we attempt to hold your word in place and prevent it from breathing new life and new thoughts and new ways among us. Blessed Lord, from the many witnesses of your power for life we pray that our hearts will be thrilled and awakened to a new dimension of your Reign. Amen.