There are many ways to look at scripture. There are varying philosophies regarding how to interpret scripture. There are even various ways of referring to the stories we hear in the Bible. Some say, “God’s Word.” Some say, “The Bible says…” Some call it “scripture” or “Sacred Scripture” or “The Good Word” or even “The Good Book.” The overriding Catholic belief in scripture is summed up in St. Paul’s statement in our second reading this weekend from his Second Letter to Timothy. He tells us, “All scripture is inspired by God.” The spirituality and teaching of the Catholic Church is that the stories we hear in the Bible are the Inspired Word of God. We believe that God has inspired people to pass on stories about the impact of the divine on our world. Almost all, if not all, of the stories were shared orally first, and then written down in a manner that captures essential concepts, feelings, morals, teachings and experiences of God that form truths about our faith. Various authors of each book of the inspired word of God have various points to emphasize to varying groups of people at different times in history, rooted in different parts of God’s love and grace that collectively form a long standing and timeless story of God’s fidelity and guidance for humanity.
There are various versions of the scriptures, and it is with great pride that I say that the most significant study of scripture in the past 60 years or so has been done by scholars in the name of the Catholic Church.
As with many critical aspects of our faith, the Second Vatican Council brought a renewed view of God’s inspired word and one of the best overviews of this renewal is in the beginning of the New American Bible, St. Joseph’s edition. If you do not have one of these bibles, I would highly recommend that you obtain one. You might find it very helpful to read this overview as well as the explanation before each book that clarifies, among other things, themes, historical data and authorship that is very insightful and really helps in understanding many of the subtleties and differences of each book.
In the beginning of every New American Bible-St. Joseph edition, we read profound wisdom from one of the documents from our Church’s Second Vatican Council—namely, The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. This document situates our belief in Scripture with revelation itself, in other words, God’s desire to reveal to us. From there the document explains how scripture is sacred because of its, “…divinely revealed realities.” From there the document gives an overview of the Old Testament, the New Testament and then Scared Scripture in the life of the Church, or the ongoing grace and importance of God’s revelation to us, through scripture, every day through the action of the Holy Spirit.
Here at Holy Family, we proclaim the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of scripture during our weekend Masses. NRSV is approved by the American Bishops and about two years ago we began proclaiming this version because, after lengthy discussion and planning involving our Worship office staff, those involved in liturgical planning, and many of you in our Small Christian Communities, we found this version more inclusive than the New American Version. In some cases it is less poetic and a bit more literal, and for these factors we believed it would make the presentation of the Inspired Word of God at Mass more meaningful to us as we hear and reflect on it.
James F. Keenan, SJ has written a book entitled The Works of Mercy. In it he describes mercy as “the willingness to enter into the chaos of another.” We here at Holy Family would like to offer yet another opportunity to do just that. The working poor do not earn enough money to pay bills and feed their families. The poor and working poor are eligible to apply for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) which provides approximately $4.40 a day. We are inviting all of you to take the SNAP Challenge. Could you feed yourself on $4.40 per day? This is an opportunity to connect with those who do this every day. Take the SNAP Challenge in solidarity with those who have much less than we do. Try it for a day or a week or a month (for a real challenge). Tell us about your experience and invite your friends to join you in your effort to be in solidarity with some of the nation’s poorest.
Another challenge that I issued at the conclusion of my homily last week is to thank just one person this week that you need to thank. In the spirit of the one Samaritan Leper who returned to thank God for healing, extend gratitude to one person who you might not have ever thanked, or whom you know you need to thank. Keep it simple. Sincerely thank one person this week.
I want to thank the members of our FIRE Committee who have been working very hard on helping us to reignite the passion, relevance and overall experience of our weekend Masses. This committee, much like our recent Volunteer Ministryefforts, came out of the Parish Pastoral Council and was born out of two basic initiatives. The first is urging all of us here at Holy Family to be more vocal and more active about telling others of the countless high quality, vibrant and creative liturgies, ministries and programs offered here. The second is to listen to feedback regarding our weekend liturgies and make improvements where needed. The entire process is based on surveys, feedback and our need to evolve and grow as a community. You will be hearing more about this initiative in the coming weeks.