1-21-16 - Hearing the Word

At Bible Study this week, I was reminded of why we need to hear the Word of God and not just read it. Different voices bring out different aspects of the text, lending it color and nuance and, yes, texture. The practice of reading Scripture in the assembly of the faithful goes back thousands of years – it was already a feature of weekly worship when Jesus began his ministry. In fact, he was a lector:

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.

We’ll leave for another day the shock of what he did after he read; today, let’s just focus on the act of reading scripture aloud. Hearing the Word read is yet one more way the Gift of God is mediated through human beings, which happens at each stage of scripture’s development. People were inspired by God, told and retold, shaped and reshaped stories about their encounters with God, wrote down those stories and received teachings, collected and shaped those writings, and translated those collections. Countless human beings were involved in each of those stages, which makes the Bible a rich tapestry of ideas and enthusiasms – and probably distortions as well.

And each time we hear a passage of Scripture read, it is mediated through the thinking and voice of another person, giving it new life and possibly new interpretations. Just try reading a passage, emphasizing the verbs and then read it again emphasizing the pronouns. You’ll get two very different readings. And the Word of God comes through differently when we hear it rather than just reading it for ourselves. I often recommend that people read it aloud even when alone, just to hear the cadence of the words, the way the ideas go together or seem to clash, the wit and wisdom that are often to be found just below the surface. Just as can happen when we read poetry aloud, we often find scripture easier to understand when we hear it.

I once knew someone who likened the ministry of reading Scripture in church to being an aqueduct – a vessel carrying the Living Water to the people. I like to tell lectors to read it as if they're reading a story at bedtime. That day in the synagogue, Jesus was the Living Water. We get to carry him as we read his stories to each other.