A Sunday Thought About the Word of God
Have you read the Bible lately? Okay, so we hear readings from the Bible during the first part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word. And so today, Sunday, since you've either already gone to Mass or are about to go to Mass, you may hear a passage or two from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. But do you ever read the Bible on your own?
We Catholics have this reputation, especially among Protestants, of never reading the Bible. Again, we do hear Scripture readings at Mass, which we attend a minimum of once a week. (You do faithfully attend Mass each Sunday, don't you? ) And most Protestants might be surprised to know that. So they're not exactly right, of course. And yet, putting their criticism aside, ask yourself this simple question: Why wouldn't you want to read the Bible on your own?
For example, if you develop the habit of reading Sacred Scripture for, oh, 5 - 15 minutes each day - and by that I mean both the Old and New Testaments - you'll get to know God better. And you may remember that the reason we were created and live here and now on earth is to know, love and serve God. Now, since Sacred Scripture - the Bible - is the Word of God, what better way to get to know God than to read His Words? Isn't it obvious? This isn't rocket science.
Anyway, here's an example from the Old Testament of how, when you read the Bible, you get to know God better, These few words from Jeremiah 6:10 (I just so happen to be working my way through Jeremiah right now as part of my daily Scripture reading), speak, I think, to those of us who chose not to take a few minutes to get to know God during our limited time here on earth:
Okay, so maybe you don't hold the Word of God as an object of scorn. But, really, what else might someone observing us think if they know that we know that the Bible is the Word of God, and that given the choice of taking a few minutes each day to read His Holy Word, instead we...well, what do you do instead?
You'll do yourself an enormous favor (to put it mildly) and provide good example to those around you (like your wife and your children, for example) if you take a few minutes each day to read God's Word. Even better, learn to read slowly and attentively, thinking about what you're reading. Maybe from time to time, you can even spend a few minutes meditating on what you've read, especially if what you've read "speaks to you" you in some special way, like those words from Jeremiah above obviously did me.
Listen, I'm not Biblical scholar. I'm just an ordinary Catholic. But I do have a brain. And I think the logic of reading Scripture doesn't require a PhD or a degree in theology to grasp. It's just common sense.
Meanwhile, it's already February. The first month of this year of Our Lord 2014, January, just slipped by us all. And if I'm put here on earth to know, love and serve God, I'd better go about my business - and so, I suggest, should you.
We Catholics have this reputation, especially among Protestants, of never reading the Bible. Again, we do hear Scripture readings at Mass, which we attend a minimum of once a week. (You do faithfully attend Mass each Sunday, don't you? ) And most Protestants might be surprised to know that. So they're not exactly right, of course. And yet, putting their criticism aside, ask yourself this simple question: Why wouldn't you want to read the Bible on your own?
For example, if you develop the habit of reading Sacred Scripture for, oh, 5 - 15 minutes each day - and by that I mean both the Old and New Testaments - you'll get to know God better. And you may remember that the reason we were created and live here and now on earth is to know, love and serve God. Now, since Sacred Scripture - the Bible - is the Word of God, what better way to get to know God than to read His Words? Isn't it obvious? This isn't rocket science.
Anyway, here's an example from the Old Testament of how, when you read the Bible, you get to know God better, These few words from Jeremiah 6:10 (I just so happen to be working my way through Jeremiah right now as part of my daily Scripture reading), speak, I think, to those of us who chose not to take a few minutes to get to know God during our limited time here on earth:
Behold their ears are closed,
they cannot listen;
behold the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn,
they take no pleasure in it.
Okay, so maybe you don't hold the Word of God as an object of scorn. But, really, what else might someone observing us think if they know that we know that the Bible is the Word of God, and that given the choice of taking a few minutes each day to read His Holy Word, instead we...well, what do you do instead?
You'll do yourself an enormous favor (to put it mildly) and provide good example to those around you (like your wife and your children, for example) if you take a few minutes each day to read God's Word. Even better, learn to read slowly and attentively, thinking about what you're reading. Maybe from time to time, you can even spend a few minutes meditating on what you've read, especially if what you've read "speaks to you" you in some special way, like those words from Jeremiah above obviously did me.
Listen, I'm not Biblical scholar. I'm just an ordinary Catholic. But I do have a brain. And I think the logic of reading Scripture doesn't require a PhD or a degree in theology to grasp. It's just common sense.
Meanwhile, it's already February. The first month of this year of Our Lord 2014, January, just slipped by us all. And if I'm put here on earth to know, love and serve God, I'd better go about my business - and so, I suggest, should you.
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