An Easier Way to Read the Bible (That’s also Fun)
The Bible is quoted by a many more persons than the sum total of people who have read their way all the way through its pages. War and Peace and Moby Dick certainly have many copies in print whose spines have never been cracked, but the gilt edged pages of the Bible surely hold the record for highest number of unread editions in print. The Bible need not be so daunting, especially for Episcopalians. As Episcopalians, our lasting literary legacy is the esteemed translation known as the King James Version of the Bible (and the Book of Common Prayer). The impulse pushing the English Reformation was not the divorce of Henry VIII. Yes, that was the driving desire of the monarch, but this made it politically possible for the deep longing for a Reformed Catholicism to be fulfilled on British soil. The English reformers were convinced that both the Bible and the liturgy of the church must be in the language understood by the people.
The Process
Try reading and reflecting on the Bible with a group. A small group Bible study makes reading the Bible both easier and, dare I say, fun. Gather once a week with a small group. No experts are needed, but the Holy Spirit. Read a short passage and talk about it as you read.
One method, often referred to as East African Bible Study is to have one person read a passage (such as the Gospel reading for the coming Sunday) while all listen. Pause and reflect and then have anyone offer what they heard. What words or phrases stood out. Then have another person read the same passage and repeat the process. Having served as an intern in the Anglican Church off Tanzania while in seminary, I learned that in the East African Revival this would continue as the group would apply the text to their lives and decide how they might live the coming week differently for having read that text. The group meeting week by week would then hold one another accountable for seeking to live out the Gospel.
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Whatever method you choose, week by week ruminating over the Word of God with a group is rewarding. This is best augmmented by also reading through the Bible in a pattern such as the one found in both the readings for Morning and Evening Prayer and Forward Day by Day (readily available in most Episcopal churches and free online). If you have not tried meeting routinely with a group to discuss scripture, know that it need not be intimidating and often leads to a lot of laughter as well as getting serious about what is going on in the world and in the lives of those studying. I have studied the Bible this way with numerous groups over time and have never found it a chore and uniformly found that God used the scripture read together with a group to get my attention in a way that less frequently happened when reading on my own.
The Rev. Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary
NOTE: Would those who participated in a Seven-Week Advent last year get in touch with me to let me know how it went, if you are participating again this year and what you discovered in the process. For those wondering, what I mean by seven weeks of Advent rather than four, please see: Rediscover the Seven Sundays of Advent.
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