I was asked to share in chapel the other day on the topic, "How the Bible speaks to me?" They gave me approximately 5 minutes
I grew up hearing the stories of the Bible. David and Goliath, Samson, the Exodus, and my favorite as a kid, Daniel in the Lions Den along with Meschak, Shadrack and Abendigo. They were certainly more entertaining than the Dick and Jane books which were available to read.
One of the problems of growing up in a Christian home is that after awhile the stories become so familiar that it is easy to skip over them, read the first verse and then tune out, “because I’ve already read that story.” It was difficult to find fresh meaning and so it was tempting to skip reading the stories or the Bible all together.
In high school or college I heard a quote attributed to the theologian Karl Barth who was supposed to have said “you should read with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.”
http://libweb.ptsem.edu/collections/barth/faq/quotes.aspx?menu=296&subText=468
In a similar way Billy Graham, said July 2, 1962
“World events are moving very rapidly now. I pick up the Bible in one hand, and I pick up the newspaper in the other. And I read almost the same words in the newspaper as I read in the Bible." ― Billy Graham
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/40328.Billy_Graham
For many years it has been easier for me to read the newspaper than it was the Bible. Somewhere along the way I have found that reading the news, understanding our culture and society can give new meaning to many of the stories in the Bible. Life experience also shapes this as now when I hear or read some stories I can't read them without thinking of person who explained something, a situation I was in and so forth.
An example of this is a story found in Mark 5, Luke 8:26 and in Matthew 8:26 though the Matthew version of the story has some significant differences.
This is the story where Jesus crosses the Galilee to the country of the Gerasenes. Here Jesus is confronted by a man who wore no clothes and lived in the tombs. He could break his chains when shackled, and when freed he spent his time running, howling and bruising himself. When Jesus confronts him, the demons speak and ask to be sent into a group of nearby pigs. Jesus grants the request and the pigs, filled with the demons rush over a cliff and into the sea where they drown.
Everytime I hear or read this story I picture an Egyptian Christian, Farid Wissa who preached a sermon based on this story when we were at Germantown Mennonite. Farid was a bit odd and I can still see him rocking back and forth, with part of his shirt tail sticking out through his zipper. In spite of this, Farid pointed out that the owners of the pigs, and likely the man filled with demons were not Jewish. I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought of that before but I hadn’t. So in addition to a story about pigs, demons and the power of Jesus, it became a story which shared God’s love for all peoples, not just the Jewish residents of Palestine.
More recently I happened to read Shane Claiborne’s book, “Jesus for President.” who pointed out some details of the story which, for me gives it more meaning. To summarize, the area Jesus traveled to was the location of ten cities called the Decapolis. The cities had been built on land conquered and occupied by the Roman military. Many of the residents of the Decapolis were current or former members of the Roman Legion. Can we assume that the man described as filled with Demons might have been a former Roman soldier? What does it mean when the demon says to Jesus, “my name is Legion?”
About the same time I read this, I ran across an article in Rolling Stone magazine which explored the lives of four young Americans who had returned to the Denver area after serving in the US army and marines in Iraq. The four suffered from PTSD’s and as a result they began to engage in behaviors which were destructive to themselves and to others. If I remember correctly one of the men profiled by Rolling Stone died in an accident and two were convicted of murder after going on a drug and alcohol induced rampage in their neighborhood. William Tecumsah Sherman, the Civil War general said, “War is hell.” Were these men filled with the demons of war? Could the Geresene man filled with demons have been a Roman soldier suffering from PTSD’s? The Roman wars of conquest could be brutal and often involved bloody hand to hand combat. Those of you who have Gladiator will have seen this. So, at least for me, the story from scripture and the story from Rolling Stone combined to give me more meaning to the Biblical story but also to events surrounding me today.
In the story, Jesus heals the man who then begins telling his friends about Jesus.
If we, the church, are to be the representatives of Jesus here on earth, are we offering healing to those who suffer from PTSD’s. Are we offering healing and hope to returning soldiers suffering from the traumas of war? Where do I fit in the story? Am I one of the townspeople who is scared by what the pigs did and so I ask Jesus to leave? or am I one of those who perhaps asks Jesus to stay? How do I respond today?
I’m sure there are other ways this story can be interpreted and there are other questions which can be asked. But in doing as Bart and Graham suggest, reading the Bible along with the news, helps me to understand and interpret current events, at the same time, it keeps the Scriptures, written 2000 years ago, relevant and worth reading.
ASking where I fit in the story makes it personally relevant, and this is how the Bible, along with the news speaks to me.
