As we talk about what it means to worship, we think a lot about the big things we do….the Sunday morning things, we sing, we pray, we dance, but there’s also something much more subtle that we can do that is an act of worship. And that is to study the Bible. Studying the Bible is and has been considered a high form of reverence and the most reliable way to plug into God. Want to know what God is saying...read the scriptures.
It’s part of why the sermon takes such a chunk of each worship service. Proclaiming the word of God, helping us to listen, and hear the stories of scripture is central to what we do in the community together. It used to be that only a few could read and study the Bible. They were the
designated teachers. They trained hard to be entrusted with that sacred work of the community. To be a teacher of the scriptures you trained as a disciple and those who excelled moved to the next level, and then they studied further, and those that excelled kept training and learning. Those that didn’t do well went on to other jobs.
Sharing the scriptures was high holy work and it wasn’t treated lightly.
And when you engage in Bible study today it’s still considered holy work. We believe God was part of the stories when they took place, and through the Holy Spirit present as the stories were shared through oral history, and then part of writing it down and now part of each reading of the scriptures. We believe the Bible is holy because of God’s holy presence as we engage it. We believe the Bible is the living word of God because God lives in the telling and retelling, the reading, and the re-reading of the word.
But before the Bible was ever written down on paper, God asked that God’s word, God’s instructions and commandments be written on our hearts, be tied to our hands and our heads as a reminder that God’s word should go with us everywhere we go.
This passage in Deuteronomy chapter 6 is like a reduction of the other laws God had given the Israelites--the laws of the 10 commandments….if you want the TL, DR version (that’s modern acronym slang for “too long, didn’t read” version...formerly known as the cliff’s notes version, it’s this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength. Keep these words on your heart and your mind and teach them to all the generations to come.
Keeping God’s directions close was key to staying faithful. To stay close to God’s word is the way we ensure we are at least trying to be obedient. I mean, how can we do what God asks if we don’t know what God asks? We can’t. So to know what God asks we study the scriptures. It doesn’t actually work by osmosis. We can’t just hold the Bible and use it as a pillow and hope for the best. We have to study it. We get to study it. It’s a privilege.
God gives us a means of connecting with God. God isn’t aloof and distant and unknowable. God says, “Hey, I want you to know me. I want you to know what I expect and how you can live your best life, all you have to do is get close to my words and the stories of my people. The scriptures are a gift in how they help us build a lasting relationship with the living and true God.
I don’t want to oversimplify. “Just read the Bible” makes it sound pedestrian and it's not. It’s not so easy but it is so straightforward. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and write these words on your heart. Remind yourself with their presence on your hands and head and teach them to each generation.