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Holy Week resources and reflections

The Word as a whole, a meditation

Newsflash!

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe. i

Isn't it amazing what powers of perception humans have? Even when mortal expressions are limited and imperfect, humans have been gifted with the ability to discern much more meaning from a written text than a surface review might reveal.

Think how often a word or two -- spoken or written -- is misconstrued because we fail to open our minds to the whole of what is intended by the one desiring to communicate with us.

Newsflash!

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe. i

Isn’t it amazing what powers of perception humans have? Even when mortal expressions are limited and imperfect, humans have been gifted with the ability to discern much more meaning from a written text than a surface review might reveal.

Think how often a word or two — spoken or written — is misconstrued because we fail to open our minds to the whole of what is intended by the one desiring to communicate with us.

God desires us (God’s people) to know and obey God’s will. God has given us God’s Word in Scripture, as well as in the very person of Jesus Christ. While the Scripture we have today was recorded, copied, translated and transmitted by imperfect human beings, we believe that Scripture was, and continues to be, inspired by God’s Holy Spirit. When the Word is taken as a whole, it is utterly reliable.

Yet it remains our responsibility to listen for God’s Word, to see what God has to say. We must open ourselves to the inward illumination or “speaking” of the Word by the Spirit of God. Often the “listening” and “seeing” are hard work. Sometimes we do this by studying widely, deeply and carefully.

Sometimes, we listen for God’s urging in prayerful waiting and quiet contemplation. Sometimes we must listen to Scripture being interpreted by others, allowing God to speak to us through their words and life experiences, which may be different from our own.

We sometimes discover that others “read” or interpret Scripture differently than we do. When that happens, our church confesses that Scripture calls us to commit ourselves to remain in community, to love one another in spite of our differences, and to struggle to understand together — for as long as it takes — that we might discern as a body what God intends for us (God’s people) to understand and to do.

The apparent flaws in our denomination’s proclamation today need not defeat the content of the eternal Good News we share. May God illuminate our way — together — through the power of God’s Word.

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

 

i According to www.semantics-online.org , this little notice spread through the Internet a few years ago, although no one was able to credit the source.

 

TIMOTHY T. READ is executive associate pastor of First Church, Charlottesville, Va.

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