This article, published formerly at Suite101 is about reading Scriptures intelligently. The author explains why.
There are three ideas behind the title "Reading Scriptures Intelligently" that I wish to explain lest I be misunderstood. The first is that any passage of Scriptures must be read and understood as one would read any other piece of human literature, i.e., with the full use of one's God given intelligence. Reading with intelligence, in this first sense would be to read a piece of writing respecting (a) its language, grammar and syntax, and context; (b) the particular way in which it is written (i.e., whether it is written as poetry, or as chronicle, or as a story with a moral lesson, etc.); (c) the intent of the author (in the case of the Scriptures, it is always to proclaim the mighty deeds of God in the history of His people.) In this three-fold way of "respecting" the written Word of Scriptures, we are actually doing homage to the Humanity of the Word of God who -- in the language of St. Augustine -- is echoed forth in the many human voices of the books of the Bible.
The second idea behind the title "Reading Scriptures Intelligently" follows upon the fact that most readers of the Bible read translations of it. Since most of the better translations of the Scriptures have subsidiary notes and sections for its readers, one would be reading intelligently if one is able to make full use of those helps as well. Among the modern translations which have subsidiary notes and sections for its readers, I would mention the New American Bible (especially the Study Edition) and the Jerusalem Bible. Both these translations help the reader understand the particular words whose meanings are nuanced by their use in a particular passage or text, identify the way in which a given passage was intended to be read (i.e., as a lament, parable, or riddle, etc.), locate the mentality behind a passage culturally (e.g. Semitic or Hellenistic), politically (e.g. of priests, or administrators associated with the king, like "Chronicles", or of minority groups, like some parts of "Isaiah") or historically (e.g. before or after the Exile), and -- in the case of professional users like catechists and religious educators -- help translate the meaning of a text into a programme of human formation in values-discernment and moral growth. Furthermore, recent developments in bible scholarship has produced dictionaries and "How To" books for the general reader of the Bible. One who desires to be more intelligent in the reading of the Bible can't do without these helps. The third idea behind the title is this: that while Scriptures is in some respects like any other human work of literature, it is still "theopneustos", "divinely inspired" -- "Sacred Scriptures". What this means is that, if I should read Scriptures with all of my God-given intelligence as described above, I will still be reading it unintelligently if I forget to regard it as a "place" of encounter with the God has made me intelligent. Or to put it another way: An intelligent reading of Scriptures, precisely because it is "of Scriptures" must also be a reading IN faith.
Now that "Intelligent Reading" of Scriptures has been defined, let us proceed to the reading of a sample passage from a modern translation. Let me take as an example Mk. 1:29-31. In the Jerusalem Bible, the title "Cure of Simon's Mother-In-Law" gives the reader some general idea of the passage's content. Here is the passage:
(29) On leaving the synagogue, he went with James and John straight to the house of Simon and Andrew. (30) Now Simon's mother-in-law had gone to bed with fever and they told him about her straightaway. (31) He went to her, took her by the hand and helped her up. And the fever left her and she began to wait on them.
The intelligent reader, and especially one who has been following the story of Mark's Gospel, will immediately understanding the following:
"He" (vv. 29.31) refers to Jesus of Nazareth, the "Holy One of God" (see 1:24); 2. James and John, Simon and Andrew are the fishermen whom Jesus called to himself (1:16-20) and who have been with him in his work of teaching and healing (1:21-28). 3. The story is the second instance where Jesus heals a particular person: the first was a male demoniac in a synagogue (vv. 21-28), and now, a sick woman in her house.
On closer examination, the intelligent reader would notice that most of the actions in the story about the healing itself (v. 31) are from Jesus ("went in" "took her hand" "helped her up"), and that even the "fever" is personified in that a verb is attributed to it: "the fever left her". Further, the sick woman in the story, after receiving the actions of Jesus, acts in her turn, by waiting on them (=Jesus and companions). The phrase "wait on someone" is another way of saying "serve someone." The intelligent English reader should know this; people who have English as a second or third language need to be reminded of this. In sum, the content of the passage can be described in the following way:
- The Holy One of God (1:24) drives away not only demonic spirits but also debilitating forces (the fever in v. 31) by his presence.
- He does this not only through words (as in v. 25) but also through gestures (v. 31); not only in sacred places (as in a synagogue), but also in not so sacred ones (in the house of Simon and Andrew).
- The Holy One heals not only when confronted by evil(as in v. 24) but also when his attention is called to it (as in v. 30).
- The cured woman's action, that is, waiting on Jesus and his companions, can perhaps be seen as a response in gratitude. (Some people I know would make the connection almost automatically.)
These conclusions about the person of Jesus can already form part of one's stock knowledge about Him as one goes on to read Mark's Gospel. For the advanced reader, this knowledge about Jesus the "Holy One of God" can already become a jumping board for a prayerful reflection. One can perhaps ask oneself: "If I were Simon or any one of the disciples in that situation, who is the sick person whom I would refer to Jesus?" Or perhaps, one can put oneself in place of the sick woman and say: "If I were that woman, in what way will I serve Jesus and His disciples?" Either way, a reading of the text that adheres to the language, syntax, grammar and context of a passage goes a long way in one's education in the faith.
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