I then we got onto the topic of The Bible, a book of 66 [39 HB + 27 NT] books and how we approach the Bible. What happens when we sit down and read it?  And I made the comment that reading the Bible, just doing nothing but reading it does nothing for me. I cannot get engaged just by reading over it. The group of people were very kind and said nothing but I wondered if anyone was wondering what kind of minister they hired who does not like to read through the Bible. So I added that I may not love to read the Bible but I love to study the Bible. When I pick a chunk of text or even a whole book in the Bible and open myself up to it, ponder on its context and perhaps reflect on someone else’s interpretation of the text, and memorize it. Perhaps have a phone discussion about it with my good friend Wendy in Calgary. Talk about it in a Bible Study, take it for a walk, and allow the Bible to speak on its own terms. You may hear me talk about hosting the text. Think of a guest that you invite into your house. These things draw me into the Bible and the Bible grows from an old fossil into a thousand wonderful moving and lively things that I can touch, feel, imagine, be disturbed and be transformed by. I love that and so far it has loved me.

The lectionary has a clear theme of “The Bible” and all 176 verses of Psalm 119 talk about how the writer loves God’s law [Torah; teachings; instructions], “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long.” 2 Timothy talks about sacred writings inspired by God. And Jeremiah takes us into the very heart of God as we watch the Author of Life inscribe the words of God’s Word on our hearts.

And I wondered about the people of Valley Pastoral Charge and what your relationship was to the Bible. So I sent out a mass email to anyone I had an email address for and I asked

How many Bibles you had in your houses. I’m not sure what that might reveal about your Bible practices but it seemed like an interesting question at the time.

I asked people to take a wild guess at how well known they thought the stories of the Bible were to all the people of Valley Pastoral Charge.

Then I asked if people did anything with the Bible outside of the Sunday church service.

In summary the people of Valley Pastoral Charge have an average of 7 Bibles in their houses. And there is a perception (one that I think reflects a true observation) that Bible literacy is rather high here. And regarding the last question, people read devotions during the week, some every day. Some read the Bible (some from cover to cover—If it works for you, you need to keep doing it). Many use the Bible to record family histories like births, marriages and deaths. It seems to me that generally you love getting into the Bible and there generally seems to be a relatively high degree of biblical literacy. Something puzzles me though. There seems to be a gentle resistance to having a Bible Study. And I don’t know why that is. Maybe it’s lack of time. Or maybe there is a need not to travel the roads in the winter. Maybe its because you know in your heart that when this book is read honestly and openly it is a dangerous book. The Bible is not a safe book, It is dangerous in that we may meet judgement face to face and the Holy Spirit may guide us to places we would rather not go. It may be that we know in our hearts that the Bible holds us accountable to who we are and who we are becoming. But we also know in our hearts that this accountability is a matter of life and death for us. The Bible holds us accountable to something we all know by heart that we desperately need in order to live, and that is living life as human beings in relationship with the Source of Life. The Bible tells us stories to help us live, stories to help us die, and stories to help us believe we shall live again. [Barbara Brown Taylor: The Preaching Life p. 62]. The Bible is good in that it is not so much the story of our search of God but moreso it is the story of God’s search for us. And we know in our hearts that we must never forget that. The Bible is dangerous and good.

A highly respected member of Manitoba Conference, Rev. Roger Col who has since passed on, said very eloquently, “If we forget Jesus we’re toast!” Perhaps that is why we are keepers of our family Bibles entrusted to us so the good news of hope is never forgotten. Perhaps we know that in our prosperous lives when we have more than enough we can suffer from amnesia and we forget our roots and end up wondering around in the wilderness. And when the people forget who they are they end up living each day exhausted from faking life trying to be someone or something other than they are. It is when we remember that God is God and we are ourselves that we can truly live life as was meant to be lived. Maybe that is why we read all four lectionary texts in our worship services to keep us from falling into a state of amnesia.

Jeremiah tells us that God enters our very innermost areas and writes this odd Word into the very tissues of our will and this Word creates a memory that we know by heart. It is a memory that is remembered when God mediates God’s love through people who visit those who are lonely and help them discover that they really are useful and do belong to the community. It is a memory that is remembered when stewards of God’s gifts and resources share things like time and talents and money. It is a memory that is remembered when fear in the face of yet another small town being overthrown and destroyed by powers of progress and consumerism and corporate agendas is overcome with faith that God will watch over all as lives are rebuilt and gardens are replanted. It is a memory that is remembered when neighbors come from far and near with their combines and harvest fields for those who are in grief from the loss of their loved ones. It is a memory that is remembered when the words “I love you and I forgive you” are spoken to those whose hearts are broken by violence by threat and by abuse. We don’t have to go to school to learn those words. We know them by heart. It is a memory that Jesus remembered over and over again. These very words were inscribed into the heart of Jesus even as he hung from the cross.  “I love you and I forgive you”  “I love you and I forgive you”.

Praise and thanks be to God.    AMEN