Andrew Smeltz
November 22, 2015
I didn’t really give this much thought until one day a number of years ago my Mom told me that my great-grandfather used to read the Bible every Saturday night in preparation for worship on Sunday. Even at the time, I didn’t think a lot of it, until later I thought about the way that he was dedicating sacred, Sabbath time. He was busy like all of us are. He worked a factory job, where he had lost his left hand in a machinery accident. He had a small farm, and he took produce to market to supplement his income. He had a family, but he still found time to devote to study.
My great-grandfather died when I was 5 or 6. So I never had the opportunity to ask him why he gave a few hours every week to Bible study, but his practice inspired me and I think I understand now. Studying the holy scriptures enriches my life. To me, the stories of the Bible are the story of God’s relationship with humankind. I find meaning in the stories and letters that I carry with me into the rest of my life. Sometimes they don’t make sense to me, and sometimes I don’t like what I hear. But I think that studying God’s word brings me peace, helps me find meaning. They help me to understand and care for other people, to learn something about God, to create a way of experiencing, seeing, and thinking about the world, and, by God’s guidance – not my own – to find a way.
In our Christian tradition, studying the Bible has never, primarily, been something done alone. The earliest Christians gathered to share meals and to hear stories about Jesus told out loud. They broke bread together and prayed together and listened to stories together and talked about those stories together. Conversation around the stories took place in community, and I can understand why.
When we sit down together and talk about the stories we hear. We share our own stories. We share our own experience of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and what you say changes me. You may say something that asks me to soften my heart. You may say something that supports me and encourages me. You may say something that requires me to rethink what I had thought before. You may not say anything, but your thoughtful presence adds to the group. So together we grow as a community of faith.
St. Andrew’s offers several opportunities in different formats to study God’s word and share time in contemplative practices.
Sunday mornings at 9am: Lectio Divina in the library.
In two weeks, Saturday December 5 at 10am, there will be a gathering called “Simply Scripture – How they fit our life” around our Advent readings to help us prepare for Christmas.
On three different weekend dates, Mother Barbara will also host a group “A Thrill of Hope” to explore the Christmas story in Word and Art – check the newsletters and bulletins for dates.
And every Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:00 there is a meditation group that meets in the Library.
So I hope you will give yourself the time to come to the gatherings. You don’t have to come to all of the meetings in a series. We are very intentional about planning in a way that you could come to just one and not feel as though you missed things.
Thank you and God’s Peace be with you.