Thoughts for the sermon for Sunday January 14th
“Adam and Eve: The Promise of Paradise Past”
We have had people reading the Bible through the year and we are preparing to begin a Disciple One class some time this month. On the 14th we will honor the 90 people who completed the reading. We will honor them in the worship services.
An important part of what the Bible classes remind us to do at the church is to take the Bible inspirationally but not literally. It is a resource for our faith. It is an important part of our tradition but if it is misused by those who pick and choose various parts of a text then we will fail to discover some of the deep meaning it has for us.
There are several things we will want to do when we look at a portion of the Bible and as we try to distill meaning from a text;
1. Let us never assume we know what a text is saying. We may understand a part of what it says but we will never grasp all of what it tells us.
2. The Bible is too important to be taken seriously; it should be taken with humility and humor.
3. When we look at a text the most important question to ask is “Why is this here?” That is more important than asking the question, “What does this say to us?” If we can explore the context of a text we are open to levels of understanding we will miss if we simply skim the surface of a text and quickly apply it to our bias.
4. It is not possible to look at any text with complete objectivity. Our bias will interpret the Bible as we already think we know it. The most important blockage to our understanding of the Bible is our understanding of it. The best we can do is to recognize our bias so as not to allow it to block us from understanding the deeper meaning the Bible could have for us.
On Sunday we will re-look at the Adam and Eve story. Was their paradise a gift or a curse? Was their ultimate curse a blessing?
How do you approach the Bible?
How do you keep the Bible relevant to your life without falling into the trap of misusing it to underwrite your own presupposition?
I’d like to hear from you. It’s an important subject and something we need to address. If you’d like to respond in a way others could view click on “Comments” on this page. If you’d like to send me a message write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net
I look forward to your response.
Charles
