Hearing the scriptures being read is an act of worship & formation?
20 Nov 2008
How do you feel about the bible? How do you enage with the bible? How does the bible enage with you? How do we interact with the bible in our faith communities and what place do you feel does public hearing of the scriptures being read have in our spiritual formation (and does scriptures have less negative connations for you than say the holy bible?).
Maybe I’m getting old. I’m having nostalgic flashbacks to my childhood and how I grew up with the bible. I remember how solemn church (twice on sunday) was and the steps my parents took to keep us kids hushed, the old bag full of books and a few spankings out in the church hall when I wasn’t quiet (sunday school used to happen before the main church service so we’d have been at church for double the length of time of most of the adults!).
Maybe some of you can relate to this and are getting a tinge of nostalgia too.
One thing I do remember is the reading of scripture. I remember the separate lectern from which someone would go and read from the big bible. Next to the plaque on the wall with the hymn numbers for that day was another one with the bible passage details on it so people who arrived early could find it in advance and if they were keen read it too.
It was considered a special honour to be chosen to do so and if someone like my dad with his rich deep voice and sense of rhythm, it was a magical moment. All of us kids would listen. Listen to a story unfolding. Listen to strange words (it was the good ol King James), names, places. People really liked the bible in my church so we didn’t just have a couple of verses but often a whole chapter was read out (even if the focus of the sermon was going to be on the use of the word “BUT” in v3 contrasted with its use in v5 :).
Lots of people who could read would follow along in their bibles but a lot of people would just listen as well. When I was young I used to listen and when I was older I’d read along too in my own bible. Sometimes we’d have 2 bible passages being read out with a hymn in between (and it seemed that pretty much all of our hymns were bible verses but set to music).
All bibled out?
I went to that church from when I was 5 to when I was 18. 13 years of being taught passages in sunday school. 13 years of hearing each wk 2 chunks of the bible read out. 13 yrs of learning that this book should be treated with reverence and it was an honour to be able to hear the scriptures being read out loud and follow along in my own bible.
No wonder I was heartedly sick of the bible by the time I left. It just felt like one great big burden. Read it daily. Hear it read on a sunday. Memorise it. Ponder it. Revere it. God was the great big librarian in the sky who said Sssshhhhhh! Be quiet and just read my book literally!
The Holy Spirit being the Holy Spirit didn’t let me keep that impression of God and shook me up quite a bit over the years. No bad thing at all really I need shaking, God is not just a God of the head and the cerebral but of the heart, the soul the body! I had to learn to love (and still am) how to love God with all of me.
So now when I reflect I think what a wonderful heritage. What an amazing formation. Hearing the bible being read out each week. Being immersed into a story. Making connections with other stories. Being captivated and having my imagination fed and my soul shaped. And beginning to recapture that sense of awe that this is us listening to God talking through ordinary people like us, that the voice of God can be heard in so many different voices told through so many different lives.
Other experiences: lectionary
I went to an Anglican church for a few yrs and was introduced to the lectionary. I didn’t like that so much as it seemed like the reading of a set passage which might have no relation to the rest of the service. But I can see why again the public reading of scripture is used to each week tell more of the ongoing story of God. If I’d have gone to that church for 3 yrs I would have heard all of the bible being read out loud.
Ongoing formation
So I am more and more convinced that hearing the bible read out loud is not just nostalgia or a desire to replicate how christians would have heard the scriptures over hundreds of yrs, it is essential part of worship and spiritual formation. The act of listening, the act of being submerged into God’s story can not fail to leave its own tide mark on my soul.
You may have a different view entirely and that’s ok to share as well.
Incorporating scriptural formation into our worship?
In 21st century busy western life can we rely on people having the time to read their bibles? How much should this communal act be introduced to them in the faith community? How good is it for us to read together a whole chapter or even a whole book? What if we did it as play/drama with different voices rather than just one?
What resources, ideas, innovations, practices have you come across that are helping you and your faith community?
Resource suggestion: Hear the voice
One of the things that has been exciting and engaging me is the Voice project and I am enjoying immersing myself in their translation of the New Testament. The project seeks to capture the individual voices of the writers of the bible (by pairing great writers and expert scholars together) to bring out the poetry and beauty of the bible.
The voice is a dynamic translation to retell the story of God to help people enter into that story [you can see a brief clip with people like Chris Seay & Brian McLaren talking about the project here). It’s a translation where even the format is set up to encourage people to read it out loud with a movie script style set up when people speak to help make it more dramatic.
Tagged: scriptures, the voice, Worship
28 comments
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Comment by Tanya Heasley
8.15 pm on 20 Nov 2008
The voice project sounds great, I’m going to check it out.
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Comment by Paul
9.46 am on 23 Nov 2008
thanks Tanya, i’ve been looking at their bible book translations for awhile and I’ve really enjoyed using it both reading outloud from it and readin it myself
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Comment by Existential Punk
9.22 pm on 20 Nov 2008
i like your post on this topic, Jase. i think it is an holistic approach. i enjoy Phyllis Tickle’s season series ‘The Divine Hours” and reciting the entire thing out loud. Have not done it in a long while though.
Take care!
Adele
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Comment by Paul
9.50 am on 23 Nov 2008
yes I liked the divine hrs too, especially reading the prayers outloud, it had a sense of connection for me, maybe i was a monk in a previous life, lol.
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Comment by Stephen
9.40 pm on 20 Nov 2008
Great to read your thoughts on this Paul. I personally didn’t have the same experience when I grew up in my church. Perhaps that’s because I was brought up in the Baptist church. Scripture was never read formally like you describe, except in a sermon.
I kept thinking of Ezra chapter 8 where he reads the book of the law to the crowd from morning till midday - on a special platform they had made for the purpose. The public reading was so important to them - admittedly they didn’t all have personal copies like we do. But the reverence they gave the scriptures is impressive.
The problem with public reading is twofold for me: one, these days, the majority of people can’t read scripture out loud with any passion or conviction. Unless they’ve had practice at reading or speaking in public (or even training), they may even turn people off the scriptures if they’re too dull and dreary!
Secondly, you implied (correct me if I’m wrong) in the second to last section, that in today’s busy world, perhaps we should try to introduce public reading of scriptures as a way of connecting people to God through his Word. I agree, but, a personal quiet time - reading the scriptures and praying alone - will always be the best way to develop a relationship with God. It’s counter-cultural, and that’s the problem. Sitting in silence alone with God is a ‘weird’ concept to most post moderns.
Having said that, your post has inspired me to not edit the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead when I read it in church this Sunday. (we had decided to edit it in fear that it was too long!).
Great post Paul. Blessings
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Comment by Paul
10.02 am on 23 Nov 2008
Thanks Stephen, glad its helped inspire you to read the whole story, it would be gud to hear how that goes for you?
Yes I think having people who can read the scriptures well are awesome and there are audio versions read by top actors etc which could be used instead/or for a change to bring the bible alive.
I think self reading is great and good for developing healthy spiritual habbits but i’m jus being realistic a lot of people don’t for whatever reason. Maybe its over familirity or lack of modelling or something else that makes time not seem to work for them. So i’m throwing the thought out their that reading the bible in church might be the only time all week that people would engage with the scriptures.
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Comment by Laura
4.21 pm on 23 Nov 2008
I’ll attest to the power of modeling. Of the five people in our bible study,
four listen to Scripture in very large chunks on a nearly daily basis. I started
because Scot McKnight challenged his blog readers. Modeling works.
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Comment by Existential Punk
10.04 pm on 20 Nov 2008
i am so sorry, Paul, as i did not see your name attached to the post. It is so small and i have only recently returned here and the makeover threw me off. GREAT POST, PAUL!!!!
Best,
Adele
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Comment by Paul
10.04 am on 23 Nov 2008
that’s ok Adele, i’m flattered to be mistaken for Jason, well in terms of good posts anywho
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Comment by rodney neill
1.11 pm on 21 Nov 2008
Much of the biblical language can be hard to understand for the modern day listener - a modern translation such as the Street bible which uses everyday language to me is a good idea. Otherwise listeners will just tune out.
if the bible is read in the spirit of lectio divina in a small group context to me this might be a better setting to connect with the biblical story.
I am nervous about many biblical passages being read out without some ‘interpretation’ guidelines and education as we all bring our cultural biases and experience when listening to text
a few musings
Rodney
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Comment by Paul
10.19 am on 23 Nov 2008
Thanks Rodney. Yes i agree with the idea of a translation that people can connect too. I still love the message for that reason as its paraphrase shook me out of my over familiar comfort zone. It’s why I like the voice project as well in terms of catching style and cultural usage in a translation rather than a paraphrase.
Great point about interpretation guidelines etc. I agree with you that it is helpful to also chat about the context of the passage as well and help deepen our interpretation and understanding. More good modelling
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Comment by Laura
8.46 pm on 21 Nov 2008
I have used listening in personal and corporate bible
reflection, and in corporate worship, for the past
year or so. In personal reflection, I’ve been listening
through the bible (10x each book). The bible study I lead
listens to the passage before we begin our discussion of
the text, as it helps us grasp the flow and the emotions.
In corporate worship, I’ll give two examples. Good Friday
2009, we led a Tenebrae service in which I read the passion,
each story spaced to give time for reflection, with tenebrae
chant playing in the background. The combination of darkening
lights, mournful music, and an increasingly painful plot
made for a powerful evening. This summer, at an all church
camp out, some of the students from our Saturday Academy put
together readings on three attributes of God and presented
the readings (with very short commentary) at one of the morning
gatherings. These were not small readings, yet the people in
attendance sat, almost transfixed. Hearing the Word read well
can have a powerful influence, stirring us to remember and
proclaim God’s worth. That is worship.
As for resources, in personal and corporate bible reflection,
I use mp3s of the ESV, recorded by Max McLean.
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Comment by Paul
10.28 am on 23 Nov 2008
Thanks Laura for the examples where you have used this idea and for the resoure suggestions
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Comment by Trish
12.41 pm on 22 Nov 2008
I love the bible and I really do think its important to read it out in public when we meet together. However Im not sure if many of us really listen when it is read out, I think we often use this time to disconnect and our minds wander off to other things like the shopping or what to give the kids for tea! How can we stay connected to the word when its read out…? Why do people use a strange tone to their voice when they read the bible out?
I loved hearing about your experience as a child in church and it got me thinking how we can engage our children also with the bible. Its one of my little passions to talk about how to use the bible in our homes with our kids. Maybe we could share some thoughts on this subject too - bringing our kids up to love the things God loves, like the bible!! Just last night in bed I was having a little conversation with my 5 year old son about the story of Lazarus - he told it to me and then I filled in the gaps….it was great. (This really doesnt happen that often) Another thing we did was we had a family time where we brought our bibles - my 10 year old daughter read out a passage to us and then told us what she thought it meant so we talked and prayed about it. What I have learnt through these two experiences is that our kids can take the lead sometimes and this encourages them so much in their faith
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Comment by Paul
7.46 pm on 23 Nov 2008
Thanks Trish, great point that there needs to be a cultivation of the discipline of hearing/listening. Hmmm I’m kinda making a link in my head here to Jesus exhortion for those who had ears to hear and wondering a lil tongue in cheek if we could make a lil refrain re my experience in the anglican church, something like…
Reader: this is the word of the lord
Congregation: let us who have brought our ears hear!
or something.
A couple of commentators have referred to the practice of lecto divina and one of the things i enjoy about that is how the passage is repeated serveral times and the words allowed to find their own resonance as I learn to actively listen to the holy spirit.
I like your thoughts about how you engage with your kids with the bible. I mostly grew up hearing bible stories, some wonderful series where the text all rhymed and the pictures were quite cool. Kinda like Dr Seuss but less surreal
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Comment by John
7.39 pm on 22 Nov 2008
Interesting discussion. Shows how our experiences are so different. I was brought up in a Baptist Church (Strict Baptist when I was a child) and at most services, morning and evening there were two readings - one OT and One NT - and without realising it I seemed to have soaked it all up. Very useful when it came to Bible quizzes, but much more important it has given me a foundation of scriptural knowledge which is invaluable, and now, I confess, I don’t read scripture as much as I should, I still have this reservoir to draw on.
Having taught at a theology college for a long period of my ministry I recognise the value of studying the Bible, unpacking it verse by verse, exploring its details, building a theology out of the study; but there is, I think enormous value in just listening to scripture, without trying to analyse it in any way. I spent 14 years teaching Mark’s gospel, and then when I returned to pastoral ministry in a local church spent about 18 months preaching through Mark - i guess i thought I just about had it covered. The the Bible Society brought “Faith Comes by Hearing”, the whole NT on cassette. I used to listen to it while driving and found that, for example, just listening to a whole gospel like Mark communicated things I had never seen or grasped before!
As a preacher I am always glad to include a good chunk of scripture in the service: so when my wordy sermons leave people cold they have at least heard something with some life in it and the power to change their lives!
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Comment by Paul
8.26 am on 24 Nov 2008
Thanks John, it is interesting how much gets absorbed jus by being in an environment where the scriptures are being read out loud regularly.
Loved your honest reflection…
“As a preacher I am always glad to include a good chunk of scripture in the service: so when my wordy sermons leave people cold they have at least heard something with some life in it and the power to change their lives!”
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Comment by Tim
11.13 pm on 22 Nov 2008
My take…
In the history of Israel and the Church, hearing the scriptures aloud has always been primary
Practical reason for this primacy= people didn’t own Bibles that they read silently to themselves so the only way to experience the Word was to hear it read aloud in the community
Spiritual formation reason for this primacy= the Word was proclaimed, performed, embodied and enacted- there was life and breath and Spirit to the presentation of the Word- of course, there have been many readings of the Word that have been WAH, WAH, WAH like Charlie Brown’s teacher in the Peanuts cartoons
Possibilities for our day…
Yes, audio Bibles are great, especially ones that have “life” in the reading
And… let us reclaim the oral nature of the Event of the Word of God… see especially the “Network of Biblical Storytellers” at http://www.nobs.org and http://www.gotell.org
Finally… the Word is alive… the Word is Event… the Word is made flesh… so let’s not kill it!
Peace, Tim
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Comment by Paul
8.28 am on 24 Nov 2008
Thanks Tim for the resource links and for your reminder of our spoken heritage.
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Comment by Lauren
3.46 am on 23 Nov 2008
Thank you for the reminder of “that sense of awe that this is us listening to God talking through ordinary people like us, that the voice of God can be heard in so many different voices told through so many different lives.”
As others have mentioned, it can be easy for our thoughts to wander while scripture is being read, especially if we’re hearing a familiar passage. Even a mention that the word is, in fact, “the voice of God” would set the stage for a more powerful reading.
I am interested to check out The Voice. Reading the Bible as a dialogue, perhaps even with the text on screen so people could follow along visually, could help us experience the Word in a fresh way.
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Comment by Paul
8.31 am on 24 Nov 2008
Thanks Lauren and yw for the reminder
Your comment on our attention made me reflect again jus on the variable levels of exposure in the congregation to a passage, some passages might be over familiar for some but fresh for others. I wonder if its partly cos people stick to the same passages as safe ground too?
Maybe there is a challenge in the presentation and preparation to engage people as well as promotion of the practice of listening in our soundbite culture?
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Comment by Timothy Wright
10.10 am on 23 Nov 2008
Many people know of Eugene Peterson as the author of many excellent books and the The Message. But he was also a pastor in Maryland, USA. When he was pastor he always discouraged people from taking notes in his congregation. Saying that the Bible was based in an oral culture. He would ask people to stop writing and listen to what the Bible and he was saying.
Tim
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Comment by Paul
8.33 am on 24 Nov 2008
thanks Tim that is an interesting point, listen to the bible being read and then talked about. I wonder how you reinforce that in terms of teaching/learning so that people have some way of remembering what they had listened to after the event?
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Comment by Becky
12.04 pm on 28 Nov 2008
Firstly, thanks Paul - another GREAT post.
My history of church was almost identical to yours - frowns when you fidgeted, and hour upon hour of dull recitation and droning Preaching. Funnily enough I got more into the Bible going through the Gospels verse-by-verse in my Religious Studies A-level (I got an E :)) with my atheist teacher!
I did, however, enjoy Sunday school, because we each got a chance to read out loud (something I love) and it wasn’t all listening. There were pictures, and songs, and poems, and rhymes… learning was fun, and colourful and positive. Plus there were some older kids in my group who I looked up to and wanted to be like.
I agree with Stephen’s point about readers - you HAVE to choose the right people, or it falls flat and I (like many others) switch off. It’s got to be about choosing people who have a gift for reading - and also, I think, for understanding the passage. My sister did an amazing reading from The Message at my wedding, because she’d prayed on the passage, read it, knew what it meant, and loved it. We actually ended up ‘doing it’ about ten times in church afterwards, I believe because her reading inspired people and caught their interest. In the church where I grew up, we used all the ‘in’ people, whether they were any good at it or not, and I’m not sure that has changed. Church is as cliquey and pick-your-friends-y as anywhere else. Those inflicted with the Serious Droning Tone puts me off and sends me to sleep - I want LIFE in my Word! (PS. this is the one reason I HATE chanting written prayers together, but that’s another subject!)
Lastly, I love hearing ‘readers’ as long as they drop all the pretentious “Thanks Be To God” or “This is the Word of the Lord” - it makes me think of Muslims who are unable to say Allah without saying PBHN afterwards
It’s religious, and silly, and for that reason it just makes me laugh.
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Comment by Existential Punk
9.45 pm on 25 Nov 2008
i’d like to also add that when there is an abundant amount of scripture read it becomes way too much for me and i begin to tune out. It’s really the same for too much of anything for me. There are truths and nuggets regarding GOD and spirituality to be mined from many different sources/resources. LIKE art, music, poetry, stories, silence, photography, books, other faith traditions, serving,etc… in addition to the Bible.
Adele
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Comment by Paul
12.05 pm on 27 Nov 2008
everything in moderation, heh adele
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Comment by Paul Rodden
8.51 pm on 26 Nov 2008
Dare I raise my head above the parapet as a Roman Catholic?
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Comment by Paul
9.31 am on 29 Nov 2008
Hi Paul, please do. I’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings on this topic. We’re deep church here not mono church
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