One More Thing with Pastor Tim Burchill 11.27.2023

I Just Wish It Were Obvious

         It really is frustrating that understanding the Bible as it demands to be understood takes so much on our part.  It’s not that we’re lazy, it’s just that we think it ought to say what it means and mean what it says.  We begin to resent the word, interpretation in all its forms because of it.

          But language is by its very nature interpretive.  In an illustration that got cut out of Sunday’s sermon, I try to make the point that even the most basic words are understood very differently by those who hear them.

When I say the word CHAIR—a commonly understood, English word, what comes to mind?  Just ‘CHAIR’.  What’s the image in your head?  You could picture a folding chair or a throne; you could be thinking of a Lazy Boy recliner or a canvas camping chair; the antique rocker you have in your living room might come to mind or an electric chair that is used to execute those on death row.  If you’re affiliated with a university, you might immediately think of the head of a department, if you’re an executive you might think of the chair-man/person of the Board.

         It's all the same word—but it brings to mind so many divergent interpretations based on our experience and frame of reference.  When people say that they want to take the Bible literally, what they are really saying is that they want to interpret the Bible AS THEY UNDERSTAND IT at any given moment.  Then we—and all that we’ve heard, believed or imagined—become the arbiter of meaning.  Language requires context to create meaning.  Any meaningful conversation requires interpretation on our part, whether we are aware of it or not.

         I think I mentioned Sunday how difficult e-mail was for me when it became a major form of communication.  Because there are no visual cues, no nuance of volume or humor, it was very easy to take the wrong way.  It made me think of some of the bloopers that come from real life church bulletins.  You might have heard a few of these:

22 members were present at the church meeting held at the home of Mrs. Marsha Crutchfield last evening. Mrs. Crutchfield and Mrs. Rankin sang a duet, The Lord Knows Why.

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don’t forget your husbands.

Don’t let worry kill you off – let the church help.

         Now we know the meaning they were trying to get at in each example, but with only a single word or punctuation point missing, they actually say something quite different.  When you realize that the Bible is a collection of Ancient, Near Eastern, Theological literature then you can be sure that there is plenty of room to misconstrue the meaning and intention of those who were inspired to write or say what they did.

          In a perfect world it wouldn’t require anything at all from us to understand God’s word.  We wouldn’t have to pursue God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  It’s not a new impulse.  Not at all. The prophet Jeremiah looked forward to that day when the law of God would be written—not on scroll or in a book—but on our hearts.  And we would know who God is and what God requires us as naturally as our hearts pump blood through our bodies.  Until that day, we’re just going to have to give the best we got, lean on our pastors and teachers, and gather the resources around us that will best help us find the insight and wisdom that our God holds out to us in His Word.