Read Faithfully

Luke 11:37–54 NRSV

While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you. “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.” One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward him and to cross-examine him about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

As I pondered this sternly worded text from Luke over the past week, a phrase that was coined by a theologian Peter Enns kept coming to mind:

The Sin of Certainty

I believe that this is the root problem that Jesus is striking at when he talks to these Pharisees and lawyers. They are certain that they know the law and the scriptures. They are certain that they know how the law and the scriptures are authorizing them to treat others. They are certain that doing what they are certain the law and the scriptures say is all that is required of them. And Jesus says they’ve got it all messed up. So the question becomes, how do we — as followers of Jesus avoid the sin of certainty? Well I’m glad you asked.

We are now in our second week of a sermon series called “Rooted” where we are exploring the core values that our Wesleyan Methodist faith are rooted in.

Today we are going to talk about Scripture, and how we as United Methodists, are called to embrace and interact with our Bibles. The hope is that we will walk away from this day understanding that scripture is a deep well of truth that offers us a means of personal and social transformation when used correctly.

Whenever we talk about the nature of the Bible I offer this disclaimer: I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, that it informs us of the heart and will of God, and that it provides us with all of the necessary information for salvation and right living. I hold a high view of scripture. Which is why I can tell you with a straight face that I am continually amazed that at how surprised I can be by the text. I do not have it all figured out. The Spirit of God continually reveals new and beautiful insights — if I am willing to slow down and listen.

In the letter of 2 Timothy we find these words:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NRSV)

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

The word that is translated “inspired” is a greek word Theopeneustos which is a compound word that literally translates to “God Breathed.” It is in this “God Breathed” nature that ordinary human words become divine.

When looking to the very first time that God is said to have breathed, we see something beautiful and amazing:

Genesis 2:7 NRSV

then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.

It is in the breath of God that ordinary dust of the earth becomes a living, animated, functional, purpose filled being that fulfills God’s will on this earth.

And likewise, it is in the breath of God that ordinary human words become living, animated, functional, and purpose filled communications that inform humans how to fulfill God’s will on this earth.

The problem is, that we forget to treat the words of scripture as living, animated, functional, and purpose filled. We are often conditioned to treat them as we treat the words of a text book — flat, plain, cut and dry, dead. And I just don’t think that’s right.

John Wesley believed that scripture is twice inspired — or twice God Breathed. Once when originally recorded and then once again when every single person reads them and is inspired by the ability that they have to move the human heart to action.

There is a narrative in our world that has been used to divide the church of Jesus Christ, and particularly has been used lately to divide and disparage our denomination. The narrative is that United Methodists don’t take scripture seriously. Today we set the record straight. We take scripture so seriously here that we refuse to take its God given breath away.

Think back to the tone that Jesus took with his colleagues in today’s scripture, and his concern for the way that they were living as a result of their certainty in what the scriptures said. His concern was that the scriptures had hardened their hearts against the people that God charged them to be spiritually responsible for.

Pharisees and lawyers were people who taught the scriptures and showed people what it looked like for them to apply them to their lives. The problem was that their way of interpreting the scriptures and applying them was so deeply literal that the scriptures actually became a burden God never intended the people to bear. The scriptures were used as a weapon against the people, and it left the teachers hollow on the inside. They looked good out here, but were rotten and empty inside. And this is just not how God intended the God breathed words of scripture to be used.

This is the rotten fruit of the sin of certainty. And I think we see this in our world and probably in our own lives today. Scripture is used to harm and disparage people, to advance agendas that are decidedly not-Christ like, to try to force people to deny the fundamental dignity of other human beings who are created in the image of a loving God. And I’m pretty sure Jesus would love to come and have a few words with us about the way that we use his words.

So if we want to avoid these rotten fruits of the sin of certainty, how shall we live?

Well the best way that I can explain it is like this.

I spent the early part of this week at the Orlando Science Center with a group of 20 other clergy persons from the Florida Annual Conference. We were tasked with creating 50 sermon series in 3 days. But that’s not all. We were tasked with playing.

The science center is an incredible place with lots to see. But one of the coolest things that it has is a history of different types of arcade games.

So during one of the times of play, I found myself trying to play this timeless game (show photo). If you’re unfamiliar, the goal is to shoot as many baskets as you can in a short amount of time.

The first few rounds that I played, it didn’t go super well. I was moving fast, but the majority of the shots that I took didn’t find their way into the basket. Now this isn’t entirely because I have no basketball skills. I do, but when there is a clock ticking it just seems like the more you shoot, the better you’ll do.

It wasn’t until about round 4 that I decided to slow down. Instead of focusing on speed, I focused on mechanics. I focused on making sure that the ball was in my hand right. I focused on making sure that my arm angle was good, and that the flick of my wrist was good. And I threw less balls. And I made more baskets.

And this is true of literally any athletic or cooking or even crafting activity. When you lose sight of the proper form and mechanics, you will often fail to hit the mark, or to create with excellence or whatever it is that you are trying to do. And often when we lose sight of our mechanics it’s because we forget that we need to take time to slow down, practice, and develop the muscles and skills needed to do the work ahead of us with excellence.

The same goes for our relationship to scripture. If we are going to read faithfully then that means that we need to slow down and respect scripture for the living, God-breathed gift that it is to us and to this world.

My favorite theologian and Bible-nerd — Dr. Tim Mackie — says that the entire Bible is “Hebrew Meditation Literature.” It was not meant to be read once and then considered mastered. It’s meant to be read and pondered and reread. It’s meant to shape us and then reshape us. It’s meant to move us and then re-move us. It’s meant to live in us and with us as we navigate this world.

But it can not do these things if we approach the text with anything less than wonder and anticipation for God to speak to us. It can not speak to us if we open the text believing that we already know what it says. It can not teach us something new if we are certain of what it already says.

The pursuit of Biblical knowledge is only useful to us in this world if it is married to the humble pursuit of the still soft voice of a holy God. It is only useful to us if it moves us deeper into a loving relationship with the God whose breath we carry and the people who God has created us to live in community alongside of. Without this humble pursuit of love, we are left as the pharisees and the lawyers — White washed tombs.

So what can you do? Well, acknowledge the sin of certainty in your life, and then slow down and work on the mechanics of your relationship with scripture. Get the daily scripture from us on social media or texted to you phone. And then read it 3 times. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon, once before bed. See if it moves differently in you each time.

Or do the same with your devotional or scripture reading plan that you already have going. Read with intention. Read with the intention of meeting with the living God in the Living Word. Read with divine expectation. Slow down, be humble, read faithfully.