Many of our interactions in this day and age are via video screens or through written messages. This at-a-distance type of interaction can be challenging, not just because it is always mediated (done through a medium) but because the distance requires both parties to do some extra work.
This is especially true when it comes to written texts. Words have the wonderful ability to engage our imaginations, to enlarge our understanding, and to create narratives and connections which help us make sense of things. Words also have the capacity to be misread, misunderstood, and misrepresented. Have you ever mistaken the meaning of someone's email or text or had your own message misinterpreted? I certainly have. Because the writer is not face to face with the reader, there is no body language or vocal inflection or facial expression to help the reader understand the nuances behind the writer's words. Often, the reader is not privy to the specific situation or context in which the words were birthed. In addition, the writer cannot depend on immediate feedback from the reader and thus cannot gauge whether or not their words are received as intended. The communicator must be diligent to faithfully deliver their meaning as best they can. And the recipient must pay careful attention if they want to decipher the message contained within the communication.
Recognizing that there might be a gap between intent and impact in written communication seems like common sense, but when it comes to dealing with sacred texts, we often ignore the challenges (and gifts) that come with distances of time, location, culture, context, and language. [1]
The written witness which tells about God (the Bible) and the living embodiment of God, Jesus, are meant to work together as one cohesive, ongoing revelation of the divine nature and character. However, when Jesus came on the scene, those who knew the holy scriptures best had the most trouble recognizing him as the Son of God. They had assumed certain priorities and values which made sense in their religious context, but these things ended up being in direct conflict with the kingdom of God in person: Jesus. When faced with a choice between their particular interpretation of an ancient text and the living, breathing God standing in the flesh right in front of them, they chose to double down on their limited understanding of the religious texts.
We often look down on the religious leaders (Pharisees and Sadducees) portrayed in the gospel accounts. We believe them to be imperceptive, obtuse, and stubbornly attached to a flawed tradition. We mock them for not seeing what was right in front of their eyes, for not recognizing that a certain Jesus from ignoble beginnings revealed the nature of God in ways which words on a scroll never could. Perhaps we need a gentle reminder that we (those who study and teach and minister) are the religious leaders of our time. The gospel accounts of the Pharisees and Sadducees implore us to recognize our own lack of perception and religious stubbornness.
I don't know about you, but I have resisted and dismissed ideas which challenged my interpretation of scripture, contradicted my understanding of who God is, or critiqued traditions which were familiar, comfortable, and dear to me. Resisting and dismissing are rarely helpful postures when it comes to spiritual formation. The church fathers and mothers teach us that it is by encountering and wrestling with different ideas and experiences, especially in the context of community, that we develop discernment, wisdom, and love. Truth and goodness are much bigger than many of us have been led to believe, and the only way we can enter more fully into the way, truth, and life of Jesus is by enlarging our understanding, not by hobbling it.
Below are a few practices which help me remain mindful and respectful of the distances between the ancient world of the biblical texts and my own context. At the same time, these practices invite me to engage deeply and robustly with the meaning behind the words and, ultimately, with the divine Creator and Lover revealed in the texts. I have found these practices helpful in enlarging my understanding of who God is, in mitigating my tendency to squeeze Jesus into a particular tradition or worldview, and in fostering humility in my life of study. May they do the same for you.
1. Focus on the big picture, not the specifics. The details of the biblical texts are fascinating, and we do well to notice and appreciate them. However, we must be careful not to equate specific details in an ancient text with our present context. For example, marriages were an entirely other thing in the Ancient Near East. Accepted practices included abduction marriages, rape marriages, and multiple wives and concubines. It should also be noted that there is not a specific word for marriage in Biblical Hebrew. Language changes over time, as do culture, social mores, and contexts. We should expect that the way a group of believers heard a certain letter from Paul in the first century would be different from how Christians in the 21st century receive those same words.
Throughout church history, devout, Spirit-filled followers of Christ have had different ways of interpreting the biblical texts. That is a good thing. It shows us that the texts (like all fine literature) have layers of meaning to discover. The words are not static. The Bible's purpose is not to dictate universal laws and practices for all time. Instead, these texts offer to train us in wisdom. Instead of trying to replicate biblical specifics (enforcing ancient laws or blindly following directives given to early churches), we are invited to learn what these texts have to teach us about shared human experiences such as dealing with power dynamics, practicing forgiveness, finding unity in diversity, serving the vulnerable, enacting justice, loving God, and loving our neighbour.
2. Place your confidence in the source, not the text. Let me offer a simple analogy. Suppose you have read a biography about Susie and then have the privilege of meeting Susie in person. In your encounter with Susie, you begin to notice some discrepancies between the written account and the actual person, so you tell Susie that she needs to change to be more like her biography. Susie tells you that you have it backwards. The book is not the source; she is. Let me state it plainly (and somewhat strongly). A written text is never definitively authoritative; it is merely a witness to life. And life is always bigger than words, even inspired words. The spirit of Jesus is our guide in matters of faith and practice, not a few Bible verses pulled out of context.
Like the Pharisees, our certainty regarding the meaning of the biblical texts can make us resistant to change, even if Jesus were to show up in person and challenge our understanding. This misplaced trust can put our faith at risk when discrepancies related to the texts arise. One example of this is the perceived conflict between science and the Bible, a result of literalists reacting to the scientific revolution in the 18th century and insisting that the scriptures were authoritative in all matters, including science. In contrast, early church fathers had no problem reading the creation story as metaphor and allegory. When we place our confidence in the incarnate revelation of God, Jesus, instead of the written witness, then discrepancies between modern science and the scriptures or contradictions in parallel narratives (like the gospels or Kings and Chronicles) or scribal errors in ancient scrolls or unjust practices (genocide, slavery, etc.) are not unexpected nor do they need to be defended.
3. Embrace the joy (and challenge) of engaging with an ancient, inspired text. It is a wondrous thing (and, I believe, holy work) to explore the details of translation conundrums, to delve into the purposes behind different versions of the same events, and to learn to see the many ways the Spirit of God is counter-cultural, innovative, and always moving toward merciful justice. If Jesus is the in-person revelation of God and the Spirit is the one who guides and teaches us, then we can stop spending our energies on defending the Bible and concentrate on the real work at hand: growing in love and wisdom.
We do this by engaging with the scriptures in community. We do this by searching out what scholars have to say. We read the biblical texts with eyes of wonder and look for meanings which find their home in Jesus. We study the culture and the history and the languages of the biblical world and do our best to understand what the Spirit might be saying to us right now. We look for the trajectory which is invoked from Genesis to Revelation, a trajectory which includes creation, growth, suffering, sacrifice, love, and community, and pray that we learn how to live into that trajectory. We look at the biblical witness and seek the source of life and truth: Jesus.
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[1] Translator Wilda Gafney chooses to transliterate names of biblical characters directly from Hebrew instead of using Anglicized versions. "Using the less familiar form ... reminds the contemporary non-Jewish reader that we are at a great distance - geographically and temporally - from the original context of these Scriptures; we need to be wary of interpreting as though they were composed in our immediate context or their messages directed toward us." Wilda C. Gafney, Womanist Midrash (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017), 289.
Image: St. John the Theologian. Image from pinterest.ca.
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