My sermon on how to read the Bible, given on 26th January 2020
(Gospel Mt 4:12-23)
Pope Francis invites us today to celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God. He explains that the reason for his invitation is to appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in that constant dialogue between the Lord and his people. But I think there is another reason for reading Holy Scripture, much simpler and more important than Pope Francis’ reason: weariness and lack of peace in our daily lives.
I’m certain that modern people would be far happier if they would take a little time off to read and meditate on Holy Scripture. To paraphrase the prophet Jeremiah: Peace, peace and there is no peace, because no man considers in his heart. The Gospel also tells us that Our Lord Jesus Christ many times withdrew from the crowds into the wilderness and prayed and probably meditated on Holy Scriptures. Martha, who was so busy with many things, was told that only one thing was necessary – to sit down and listen to God’s Word.
A life of faith with peace in our souls can be cultivated only if we come back to the Holy Scripture and meditation. But what about weariness?
There are various kinds of weariness: weariness of the body, which can be satisfied by good sleep or a visit to a leisure centre. Weariness of the brain, which needs the incubation of rest for new thought to be born. But hardest of all to satisfy is weariness of heart, which can be healed only by communion with God. And this communion is not possible without reading and meditating on Holy Scripture.
If everything I have just said is true, why don’t we read the Bible? Why do we leave the book on the shelf and so rarely reach for it? What is the problem?
I think the answer to that question is not difficult. We don’t like to read and meditate on Holy Scripture, not just because we are too busy, but because we don’t really know how to do it. And if we don’t have a good way or a good method of reading the Bible, it is difficult for us to discover God’s Voice in this book, and after a while, we simply give up.
So today I want to share with you all my way of reading the Bible. I’m not doing this because of my pastoral duty. Not at all! I’m doing this because as your friend, I hope that after this sermon some of you might fetch the Bible down from the shelf again and rediscover or hear again God’s Voice in this wonderful book that the Holy Spirit has written for us.
To be honest with you I read my Bible twice a week, usually on Wednesdays and Fridays. It takes me at least 30 minutes, at most an hour. But what am I doing exactly, when I read Holy Scripture? What is my method of reading?
As you have probably noticed, from time to time I encourage our little children to give me a High Five. And they usually like it. So, I call my method of reading High Five because our hands have five fingers. And number five, it’s a very good number; very useful.
As you can see behind me on the screen (here see picture below), our first finger is actually the thumb. The modern generation use this thumb for the ‘like’ sign or ‘thumbs-up sign’. You can use the thumb sign as a ‘Like’ or ‘dislike’ on Facebook or YouTube to let other people know how you’re feeling about something.
Right, when I read a text in my Bible, first of all I’m looking for something positive there. So, my like-finger, my thumb, asks me: Tomasz, what is positive in this text? I am looking for something I like that can deepen my relationship with God. For example, in today’s gospel, I really like these words: Jesus went round the whole of Galilee teaching, proclaiming the Good News, and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people. I can put my ‘Like’ beside this sentence because through this passage, God tells me: Tomasz, by the Gospel and by preaching (I mean, by the homily) I can heal a lot of your spiritual problems, probably daily problems as well. Tomasz, through the Gospel I can strengthen your hope, and I can cheer you up anytime you are sad and devastated.
So, when you read your Bible, first of all find something positive, something that can deepen your relationship with God. And then, we can go to the second finger.
Generally we call this finger the ‘index finger’, am I right? But in Polish we also call this finger the ‘warning finger’. I remember my grandfather who, when I was little and misbehaving, would warn me by wagging his finger at me: Tomasz, be careful, behave yourself!
Well, when I read my Bible, this warning finger always asks me: Tomasz, what, in this particular text, is connected with evil or sin? Where is our human weakness here? You must find it. Why? Because knowledge of human weakness is always an advantage.
The most important wars in the past were not won by the best armed Kings or those who had the biggest armies. Not at all! Those wars were won by leaders who were aware of all the weaknesses of their solders.
So, what in today’s gospel is connected to sin? Where can we find a human weakness? Well, Jesus is saying today: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. We all are sinners, aren’t we? We all are weak people, aren’t we? If you think that you are strong enough to cope with daily life by yourself, you will suffer a lot very soon. We need a Saviour! We need someone who is stronger than we are, who can guide us, and who can heal our wounds after our battles against all the difficulties of daily life. The warning finger tells us: you are not self-sufficient!
Next in my reading, I go to the third finger, which is the ‘middle finger’. We also call it the ‘offensive finger’. But in this context, there isn’t any connection with this gesture. The middle finger just tells me to ask myself: Tomasz, what is the central message of the text you are reading? What is this text about? Is it about love, about justice, or maybe about vocation, like in today’s Gospel, where Jesus called Simon Peter, his brother Andrew and after a while two other brothers -James and John? What is this passage about? Find it!
Let us go on. The fourth finger, which we call the ‘ring finger’, is related to love. This finger got its name from the ancient belief that a vein directly connected it to the human heart, and that wearing an engagement ring or wedding band on that finger strengthens love and happiness.
As you have probably guessed, when I read the Holy Scripture, this finger asks me: Tomasz, is there anything about love in this text or not? Can you find something related to happiness in it or not?
For example, in today’s gospel, Jesus said to the fishermen: Leave your nets and follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they did it! How great was the love of those fishermen for Jesus that they left everything and followed him? Curiosity alone was not enough to make them change their whole lives. It had to be love.
So, by the ring finger, Jesus is asking me today: Tomasz, how much do you love me? What can you do for me today or in your life for the sake of your love to me?
And there is the last finger. We call it the ‘little finger’. It looks like a little hook – and of course, a hook can hold you back at any point. This finger always prompts me to find the part of the text in the Bible, which I cannot understand. Sometimes it is just one sentence, other times it might be more than one sentence. Then I can do my research on the internet or using books. I can ask someone who is smarter than me, and sooner or later I will find the correct answer or an explanation for my difficult sentence.
And that’s it. There are no more fingers in my method of reading the Bible. Just five!
You may laugh at me, but I know something. It is always better to read Holy Scripture – even in a stupid way – than to neglect it and never read it again.
Why do we have to come back to Holy Scripture? Why do we have to read and meditate on it often? Because, the Word of God is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. Listen to this: it is not a lamp for our intellect, or reason, or mind – not at all! It is a lamp for our path. The diligent reading of Holy Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking and explaining what is going on in his life, and the reason why it’s going like that. If you don’t read God’s Word, someone else will explain to you what is going on in your life. It may be this crazy world with its technology, the internet and lay culture. It may be your body with all its emotions and natural drives, or it may be Satan with all his empty promises – but definitely not God himself.
So, to whom do you want to entrust your life: to the modern world, to a demon, to your body or to God? If you want to leave your life in God’s hands and trust him, go back to the Bible.
Tomasz MAMELKA - Timperley 