Being Read by the Bible

I have lost track of how many times I have read the Bible cover-to-cover. I have a dog-eared, underlined, tattered, repaired and rebound Bible to prove it.

During my first fulltime ministry position, there was a retired minister in the community who led a “Through the Bible in a Year” group, which I attended. I adopted his reading schedule and continued using it for many years. It included a reading from the Old Testament, New Testament and Psalms for each day of the year. Later I tried other Bible reading regimens.  

The problem with all those approaches was that they are all self-centered. Their weakness lay in the one doing the reading. It was always me reading the Bible. Whenever I read the Bible, there I was. However often I read the Bible, the “I” was always the one reading it. And I was always messing things up.  

Only when the “I” drops away does this pattern change. Then we can see the problem with all Bible study regimens. They all read scripture through the lens of the self. They do not challenge the authority of the mind and the intellectual systems created by the mind. They submit the Word of God to the tyranny of human tradition.  

Even faiths that insist on the sole authority of scripture are really in bondage to the authority of religious tradition. What is Scripture but a term for unquestioned religious tradition?  

Scriptures are written by the church, collected by the church, and canonized by the church. The Bible is a product of the church. The veneration of scripture is just a clever way for the human ego to remain in control while pretending to submit to God.   

When we read the Bible, we come with a certain religious perspective, and we read that perspective into the Bible. We do not see what the Bible really says. We read it as we think it is. We bring our beliefs and values to the Bible and unsurprisingly find our beliefs and values confirmed in the Bible. That is why there are so many interpretations of the Bible. We read the Bible through rose-colored glasses and never wonder why everything looks rosy.  

A less selfish approach is needed. Instead of reading the Bible, the Bible now reads me. The Letter to the Hebrews says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The divine Word of God is the active agent, not the human reader. 

In interpreting that verse, people assume that the phrase “Word of God” means our Bible. We forget that the Christian Bible did not exist when those words were written. The Word of God is not the Bible; it is older than the Bible.  Even the word “scriptures” as used in the Bible does not mean our Christian Bible. It simply means “writings.” The Biblical canon was not collected and canonized until centuries after the writings were written.  

The “Word of God” is a phrase used in the Bible to describe divine inspiration and communication. The prophets said, “The Word of the Lord came to me saying ....” It is not too bold to say that the phrase “Word of God” is a synonym (or more accurately a metonym) for God. The Gospel of John says. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”  

The Word of God existed before humans ever uttered a word. The Word of God brought the universe into existence. Everything came into existence through the Word, as John says. The Word of God can speak through human words in holy scripture, but it is not exclusively identified with scripture. Neither is it identified with any one religious tradition.  

When we hear the living Word of God, we recognize it as the same Divine Word that speaks us into existence. When we read scripture, the Word of God reads us and not the other way around. It is no longer I who read, but the Word who reads in me, to paraphrase the apostle Paul. 

When we are read by the Word we cease to be ourselves. We become one with the Word that was from the beginning.

This Word is heard in the voice of creation. Science is its language, just as certainly as Greek or Hebrew are the languages of scripture. “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” There is no conflict between scientific truth and spiritual truth. 

The Word of God was present before creation and will be present after creation returns to its Source. The Word of God is here now. It is the Kingdom of Heaven proclaimed by Jesus. This is the Word of God heard in the Bible. This is the Word of God that reads me. It is amazing what the Word of God says when we get out of the way! 

I'm Nobody! Who are You?

Recently I came across a reference to Emily Dickinson’s poem “I'm Nobody! Who are You?” in a novel I was reading. I first read the poem years ago but had forgotten about it. It was a joy to become reacquainted.  

In rediscovering the short poem, I learned that it has two forms. The poet’s original words were apparently edited for publication after her death. (Why would anyone do that to a poem?) Here are the poet’s original words, with her original capitalizations and punctuation. 

I’m Nobody! Who are you? 

Are you – Nobody – too? 

Then there’s a pair of us! 

Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know! 

How dreary – to be – Somebody! 

How public – like a Frog – 

To tell one’s name – the livelong June – 

To an admiring Bog! 

The poem is often interpreted as an ode to anonymity by the notoriously reclusive poet. It’s message resonates today with those who do not like our celebrity-obsessed culture that has produced internet influencers, television “personalities,” and “reality TV stars” who are famous for nothing more than being famous! 

I sense a deeper spiritual meaning in the poem. I might be reading my own interpretation into the poem. In fact I am sure I am. But isn’t that what poems are meant to do? The meaning of a poem is not just what the poet intended, but also what it elicits in the reader. For me it elicits awareness of my spiritual identity.  

I am Nobody. No body - not a body. Not a self – no self. Buddhists call it anatta. Jesus phrased it, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will save it.”

My deepest identity is not a name that I endlessly croak to other peepers in the pond. For bog dwellers life is an endless June during which one repeats one’s cultural identity whenever asked, “Who are you?”  

The typical reply to this question includes name, family, vocation, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, nationality, social status, political party, education, geography, and a dozen other societal identifiers. With these cultural identities we set ourselves apart from others.  

Personal identity is a fiction fabricated by culture. It is no more permanent than the shape of a cloud in the sky. Our name was chosen by our parents and reinforced by society throughout our lives.

Our families train us in other aspects of our identity. We accept some labels and reject others. We accumulate other personal characteristics during our brief lifetimes. These societal tags are not what we are. They are not what we were before birth, and they are not what we are after death.  

The Zen koan asks, “What is your original face before you were born?” It is a very different question than “Where will you spend eternity?” asked by the frogs in the Christian bog. Most pictures of heaven are froggish fantasies that we will someday be Somebody – complete with a celestial mansion located on a street of gold - even if today we feel like nobody.  

How dreary to be Somebody! The Good News is that I am Nobody! How about you? Are you Nobody too? Unlike Dickinson I don’t mind advertising the Good News of Nobody, although most will not believe me anyway. The tyranny of the self is too strong in most people. In any case I am Nobody. Who are you?  

Asking Directions

The other day my wife and I were walking down the main street of our village, and a truck carrying a load of lumber pulled up beside us. The driver leaned out the window and asked where a certain road was located. I gave him directions. This interaction is an increasingly rare phenomenon these days. GPS has taken the place of verbal directions and paper maps.  

Decades ago it was quite common for me to be asked for directions by motorists in town many times during the summer and autumn. I was often tempted to reply with the anecdotal response, “You can’t get there from here” or “If I was going there, I wouldn’t start from here.” But I always bite my tongue and give directions as accurately as I can. Now everyone always thinks they know where they are and where they are going ... as long as they have cellphone service, which is not always the case in New Hampshire. 

This “know-it-all" attitude seems to have carried over into other areas of life, thanks to the internet. Now everyone is an expert on everything from science to politics to medicine. No need to consult an expert any longer. Experts are now suspected of having ulterior motives. They are “elites” who are out to deceive us. Plus they think they are better than us simply because they earned a sheepskin!  

So people choose to trust a nameless source on the internet rather than their family physician. When it comes to politics they trust a talking head on TV or a faceless voice on the radio rather than people who have studied history and political science. In this way we have organized ourselves into warring tribes that glorify xenophobia. 

When it comes to spirituality it is much the same. The “us versus them” mentality is commonplace as fundamentalist religion takes hold around the globe, often bonded to an ethnic religion and a national sense of patriotism. No one thinks they need spiritual direction. Everyone already knows “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth ... so help me God.” 

If there is one thing I have discovered from being an “expert” in religious matters - with multiple sheepskins to prove it – is that the more I learn, the more questions I have. Mature spirituality is not having all the right answers. It is asking the right questions. It is knowing that there are no definitive answers – at least not answers that can be put into thoughts and words, doctrines and dogmas. 

Spirituality is more about unknowing than knowing. It is knowing that we do not know, and we cannot know the One that is often given the name “God” for want of a better term. It is more about intuitive awareness of that which is out of sight. It is about compassion for all people who are just trying to make it through life the best they can. To use another misused word, it is about Love.  

One final note about the trucker who asked me directions. I told him to turn around and follow the road back in the direction he came from. He asked how far. I said, “A mile or two. You will see a road sign on the left. You can’t miss it.” I sent him on his way confident I had helped a lost brother find his way.  

A couple of days later I drove down that same road on my way to the town dump. I noticed that the road sign that I had directed him to was missing, perhaps stolen by kids or knocked down by last winter’s snow plow. In any case, I see how he would have missed the turn.  

That is the way life is. The road signs of previous generations are missing. The religious signposts of the past have fallen into disuse. That is why it is always wise to ask for directions from those who know the territory. And always remember that there is nowhere you really need to go. The Kingdom of Heaven is always here now for those with eyes to see.