21 September 2016
St. Mary (Покрова) Cathedral
Opening prayer (from the Prayer before the Gospel during the Diving Liturgy)
Make the pure light of Your divine knowledge shine in our hearts, Loving Master, and open the eyes of our minds that we may understand the message of Your Gospel. Instill also in us reverence for Your blessed commandments, so that overcoming all worldly desires, we may pursue a spiritual life, both thinking and doing all things pleasing to You. For You, Christ our God, are the Light of our souls and bodies, and to You we give the glory, together with Your Father, without beginning, and Your All Holy, Good, and Life- Creating Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. (2 Corinthians 6:6; Ephesians 1:18; 2 Peter 2:11)
What is the purpose of the “Holy Bible”?
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:30-31)
In other words, the purpose of the Holy Bible is to help satisfy God’s desire that “all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)
But what about the Old Testament? It is part of the same thing; the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Sacraments, the Church and the whole of Holy Tradition is devoted to that one aim. When we put the Scripture to other uses, we take it out of its context. It doesn’t contain secret codes or mathematical formulae hidden within its words, nor was it given to us so that we can figure out the age of the world. This is one of the first considerations as we begin our Bible Study: we have to interpret what it says based on its purpose. Here are some other things to keep in mind:
God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is a one of the main characters in the Holy Bible
This may seem obvious, but there is an corollary that may not be as obvious: God is beyond human comprehension. His “ineffability” is one of His prime characteristics (or rather, one of the main attributes of our relationship with Him… He simply “IS”). This means that any attempt to describe Him is going to be inadequate and even misleading. Even describing His interactions with us and the world is fraught with difficulty as even basic things like mechanisms and motive are necessarily anthropomorphized.
The Bible is the Inspired Word of God
The words of scripture were given to its prophets and scribes by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit has directed its transmission to us. In this, it is perfect. However, the prophets and scribes were people with their own personalities, cultures, experience, and world-views that gave form (incarnated) to the Truth being shared with and through them. They were not “automatic writing”. Moreover…
The Writers of the Bible had a Particular Audience and Purpose
Some of scripture is timeless (e.g. John 3:16), but in order to understand it we have to study it. Part of studying it means learning about the culture and worldview of the writers and their audience. Failure to do this can create almost as many mistakes as forgetting God’s grand purpose with regard to the text.
The Bible does NOT Explain Itself
If correct Biblical interpretation flowed automatically from the Bible, there would only be one interpretation of it. Instead, there are thousands (or even zillions). The Bible was created within and for the body of believers (i.e. the Church). Like the Divine Liturgy, it ASSUMES the faith of its readers and it ASSUMES that they are part of the Church. Neither the Divine Liturgy nor the Bible find their full meaning outside the Orthodox Church. We should not be surprised that our scripture is misunderstood by people who approach it from the outside (although there are enough obvious points to pull the seeker inward).
So How Do We Study It?
The easiest thing is when the Scripture is embedded within the services of the Church! Why? Because it is there that its purpose (our salvation!) is reinforced by the purpose of the service (our salvation!). An obvious example is the scripture we use during the Divine Liturgy; Having come and fulfilled all the Divine plan for us, on the night He was given up – or rather when he gave himself up for the life of the world – He took bread in His Holy, Pure and Blameless Hands; giving thanks and praise, sanctifying it and breaking it, He gave it to His holy Disciples and Apostles, saying: (Mk. 14: 22; Mt. 26: 26; Lk. 22:19; Jn. 3:16; 1Cor. 11:23; 2 Peter 1:17) “Take, eat, this is My Body which is broken for you for the remission of sins… Likewise after supper He took the cup, saying: “Drink of this all of you: This is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins.” Remembering, therefore, this saving commandment, and all that came to pass for our sake – the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection on the Third Day, the Ascension into Heaven, the Enthronement at the Father’s Right Hand, the Second and Glorious Coming; Thine own of Thine own, we offer to You on behalf of all and for all.
When you read these words; “Take eat…” and “Drink of this…”, (e.g. Matthew 26:26; 1 Corinthians 11:24), within the context of the Liturgy, there is no doubt what is being accomplished and what “flesh” and “blood” mean. It is only when those words are read outside of its prime context (especially by the heterodox) that confusion comes in. This leads to a final point:
The Sacraments and Faith do not Come from the Scriptures
This is a common confusion. Here is a controversial example to make the point (others, such as Communion, Marriage, Baptism, Chrismation, Unction, Confession, and Ordination flow our shared scriptures): we do not pray for the dead because it is in Maccabees; it is in Maccabees because the Jews were doing it and we are a continuation of the their community. The answer is not to get others to accept Maccabees, it is to get them to accept the legitimate authority and Tradition of the Church.
Q&A
Questions included clarifying our relationship with and attitudes towards the exegesis of fundamentalists (at the one end) and secular/liberal criticism (on the other) and the sons of God of Genesis 4.
Next Week: How did we get the Bible? What is going on in Genesis 1?
Homework: Read and study Genesis 1.
Questions? Just ask (father.anthony@yahoo.com or in the comment section below). Better yet, come to class! We meet in the church at 7PM on Wednesdays. There is plenty of off-street parking across the street at St. George’s.
In Christ,
Fr. Anthony Perkins
