July 20, 2016

The Bible is not intended to be a mere chronicle of past events, but a living communication from God, telling us now what we need to know for our salvation.
Being Christian, Rowan Williams

I came across this quote in the book review section of The Living Church.  The reviewer writes that this book “stands as a deeply Benedictine model for catechesis.”  Consequently it's on my ever-growing list of books I need to purchase/read.  I can't tell you anything about it other than that it sounds interesting and might make for a good read and tool if you are looking for a way to deepen your faith.

But that's not why I focused on this quote for this particular edition of the Wednesday Word.

As most of you know, one of the things I do is to lead a Bible study every Monday afternoon at the Rogue Valley retirement complex.  We are currently working our way through Hebrews at the breakneck pace of one chapter a week.  This past Monday we dove into Chapter 11, one of the more famous chapters in the New Testament.

It begins thus:  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  And from there the author launches into the history of faith, beginning with Abel and going on down the line through Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, Barak, David, and others.  This list reminds us that the Bible is not a book of rules.  The Bible is not a seamless, perfectly aligned account of humanity's interaction with God.  The Bible is not a science book, nor is the Bible a history book.  Instead, the Bible, as Rowan Williams writes, is “a living communication from God, telling us now what we need to know for our salvation.”  Or, as the author of Hebrews shows us, it is a compilation of acts of faith looking forward to the promise of things yet unseen.

That's the thing about a living faith – it is constantly looking forward.  Lot and his daughters looked forward to a new life outside of Sodom.  Lot's wife looked back and was turned to a pillar of salt.  Moses looked forward to freedom.  The Israelites looked back to Egypt, and only Joshua and Caleb lived to see the Promised Land.

Our faith has pillars and foundations that support and inform us, but those pillars and foundations aren't there to drag us down or keep us looking back, they are there to inspire us and support us as we move forward.

Where is your faith leading you?

Amen.