Readings Between the Lines

“I’d like to read and pray with the Bible, but don’t know where or how to start.” “I often don’t understand what I read.” “I read the Bible, but interpret what it means to me.”

Perhaps you have made the foregoing statements. Last month I wrote about Pope Francis’ declaration of the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time as the “Sunday of the Word.” As a follow-up to that article I intend to offer you some suggestions to help understand the Bible better and to read it authentically. Even if you have read parts of the Bible and had trouble deciphering what it says, there is probably an equal number of parts of it you have read that are very understandable. So do not be afraid to dive into it.

First, let’s consider what is in the Bible. Genesis chapters 1-11 contain stories of creation, the first man and woman and their descendants, Noah and the great flood and the Tower of Babel story. Each of these stories is not intended to be read historically or scientifically, but as narratives which exemplify basic truths about life and our relationship to God and the world. Genesis 12-50 tells the story of Abraham and his descendants. Exodus 1-19 narrates the Hebrews’ deliverance from Egypt and their journey to Mt. Sinai. Exodus 20—Numbers 10 contains a variety of legal codes which help define the covenant relationship between God and his people. Numbers 11-36 recounts the Hebrews’ journey from Mt. Sinai to the Promised Land, a journey fraught with tension between the people and God, and adds some more legislation. Deuteronomy is in the form of three speeches by Moses, given just before the Chosen People’s entry into the Promised Land, and exhorting them to choose life by obeying the commandments or death by not doing so.
The books of Joshua-Judges narrate the emergence of Israel as a people in Canaan and the monarchy’s history. In the course of telling the stories, the sacred authors evaluate the nation’s leaders using the laws in Deuteronomy as a standard. Not many fare well! 

The corpus of books named for prophets is called the “Latter Prophets.” These prophets, whose ministry stretches roughly from the 8th to the 4th Centuries B.C., in sum, challenge the people in their sinfulness, and also encourage them in times of trial or distress.

The “Wisdom Literature” (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Song of Songs and Wisdom) basically deal with searching for meaning in life, mastering life and contemplating how to cope with the major challenges of life, such as illness, suffering, injustice, etc.

In the New Testament are four Gospels, whose primary concern is to tell us who Jesus is and to convey his teaching in a way that is relevant to the communities for which they wrote. In the New Testament letters, the authors seek to deal with unique issues of faith for the communities to which they wrote. Romans is actually an exposition of Paul’s version of the Gospel; he writes the letter to gain support from the Roman Christians as he makes his way toward the west. Finally, the Book of Revelation is a work of apocalyptic literature, which means to communicate that in the struggle between God and the forces of evil, a struggle which manifests itself in the world, God will emerge victorious.

Now that we have a general outline of the contents of the Bible, where should you start?  Ultimately that will be up to you, but it might be good to begin with the literature with which you are most familiar, which is probably the Gospels. I strongly recommend that you obtain certain resources before you begin your spiritual reading of the Scriptures.

First, make sure you have the most up-to-date edition of the New American Bible: Catholic Study Bible (hereafter NABCSB). Since 1970, the New American Bible (produced for the Catholic Church) has gone through several revisions. The advantage of the NABCSB is that it provides reading guides for each of the biblical books and detailed footnotes that explain difficult passages or simply provide a necessary background for reading a passage. Along with the version of the Bible just mentioned, it would be wise to have a commentary, which gives you a passage-by-passage explanation of the Scriptures. I recommend the New Collegeville Bible Commentary, which can now be purchased as a single-volume book, or in two volumes (Old and New Testaments). You can also buy separate commentaries for individual biblical books.

Here is a possible model for spiritual reading of the Bible. First, decide on reading not random passages, but a particular book, and read the passages in sequence. Secondly, pray for God to enlighten you through the Scriptures. Thirdly, focus on a small passage or unit. Fourth, read the passage carefully, focusing on every single word, and paying attention to the footnotes; then read it again, and perhaps even a third time. Each time you read it, you will grasp more of what the passage is saying and see things in it you did not see on the first reading. Fifth, read the corresponding commentary on the passage. This is very important, because the commentary will give you a sense of what the author is trying to communicate. If you are going to make an authentic application of biblical literature to your life, you will need to understand the message and intent of the passage. Sixth, take some time to reflect on the general message of the passage. Then ask yourself what in the passage particularly caught your attention. What has the passage taught you about Christian faith and putting faith into practice? What does the passage indicate about your relationship to God and others? Finally, think of a concrete way you can put into practice the message of the passage. As an example of putting into practice the message of a biblical text, consider the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus replies to a legal scholar’s question as to who is the neighbor he is called to love. Jesus’ parable turns the question around and instead exemplifies how one can be a good neighbor. The legal scholar correctly interprets the meaning of Jesus’ parable, that of the three who encountered the injured man, “the one who treated him with mercy” behaved as a neighbor to him. Jesus replies, “Go, and do likewise.” Now you know what it means to be a neighbor, what can you do in a practical sense to be a neighbor to someone?

Reflection Questions

● What is your favorite story in the Bible? Why? What is your favorite book of the Bible?  Why?

● When you have had good experiences of reading and praying with the Bible, why was that the case?

● Why is it important to discern, as best we can, the author’s intended message when reading a biblical passage rather than reading it through the “lens of our experience”?