I am by far the least of those educated and capable of strong and in depth interpretation of Scripture. I know what I know and one thing is that I am quite limited. That is, there is way too much that I do not know. But in knowing my shortcomings, I have a base to build upon. The problem I am told ( and I believe ) is people who know little but think they know it all, think that they need know nothing more. It is a kind of stunted growth and sometimes it is willful ignorance. And God mourns.
There is a TV channel that shows nothing but movie classics. One of the things that makes it extra special to people is that there is a host that explains to the audience more about the movie than perhaps is generally known. Perhaps it is someone who auditioned for the lead and did not get it, a change in the script that played out particularly well or some gossipy note about the goings o behind the scenes. It all gives the viewer a greater understanding of the movie. It becomes especially important when we are dealing with a different era, different political and social norms. Sometimes even old technology must be explained or understood. The people in a 1940 movie certainly did not have the ability we have afforded us by cell phones, computers and DNA testing and such. Viewing the past can be intricate job and knowledge and understanding is key to grasp the truth of a given situation.
It is also true of Scripture. We read things that have been translations of translations from multiple languages and even cultures. Things and messages can easily been missed or even completely lost in translation. If you don't appreciate the culture of the time you miss a lot.
If we were to imagine Jesus' time as a movie there would have be some serious scene setting. Men are top dogs. Woman are mere chattel. Women had few if any rights and invariably were sold or used for the benefit of men or in business transactions. We won't even discuss language and all the other cultural differences that we would find hard to understand.
Today the church remembers, Photina, the Samaritan women at the well whom Jesus spent some considerable time talking with. Set the scene, it is noon and Jesus meets Photina. Got the picture? But do you? Noon, the hottest part of the day is not when the women folk went to the well for water. The women folk went early in the morning when the burden of the sun was not pressing. So when we read this passage, do we see right away that something is amiss? The Samaritan women is an outcast even in her own society, not just to Jews. She can't even go to the well with the other women. Jesus talking to a Samaritan is taboo. Jesus talking to this particular Samaritan women is an even bigger no no. If we read this passage from John 4:4-26 we would probably just skip right over any thought about this women. Understanding the scene though is a huge leg up on understanding Scripture. This is so much deeper than a man and a woman at a well, no pun intended.
People that have a penchant to quote scripture is so cozy and it fits neatly into whatever the agenda is that they are pushing. How wonderful, how nice, how pious. But scripture study, like living a devout life following in The Way is not easy at all. In this same passage about the well Jesus says " But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him". Jesus is not talking about rules and rubrics. Jesus is talking about our hearts, our brains, our souls. God intends for us to use the intellect we are graced with. Knowledge and science are not enemies of faith, they are tools to grow with, tools to love with, tools with which we can serve God. Is it easy? Hells no as some would say. Tough as nails. We have to stretch and grow. We have to seek knowledge and understanding. We have to obey the Ten commandments in the light of the two Great commandments. That is not the stuff of rules and rubrics but of hard choices, decisions, thoughtfulness and love.
When a literalist reads the Ten commandments and it says "Thow shall not kill". That is an easy commandment to follow. Do not take the physical life of another. Even in that, there are religious justifications but a hard core person would not even fight in a war. But Jesus calls us to a deeper understanding with those two great commandments. We miss so much if we simply read words without understanding or a more in depth knowledge. The no-kill commandment speaks of verbal killing too. Insults, gossip, degrading with words and slandering. So you haven't taken any ones life physically, have you ever killed or demeaned someones soul? Have you damaged and demeaned someones psyche? Not so easy any more is it?
We cannot go forward in the ignorance of cherry picking words and lacking understanding that we are not only capable of but required by our God given intellect to invoke. We cannot move forward in ignorance when Jesus calls us to more.
WE are called and capable of som much more than being sheep. Whether it comes to politics and reading the Constitution or Holy Scripture and a deep fulfilling understanding, we have the tools to know. We have the intellect to understand. We are called to use the gifts God has graced us with.
Matthew 5:13-20
‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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