The Authority of Scripture

 Yesterday, I was listening to the day’s gospel reading and I laughed: Peter was in his boat, with his friends, fishing naked. When he saw Jesus, he evidently thought, “I need clothes,” so he put on clothes and jumped into the water rather than waiting a few minutes for the boat to get to shore. Yes, this story fits with Peter’s zealous spirit and impulsive nature and it leads us to think of when Peter stepped out of boat to walk on water. But why did John need to include the fact that Peter was fishing naked? (John 21:7)

 

I was recently listening to Jesus’s gospel teachings and I thought: Jesus’s teachings are hard. They often don’t make sense. Jesus rarely, if ever, answers a question directly. He speaks in parables and questions. And He tells us to do difficult things—like hate our families (Luke 14:26).

 

I was recently sent a quote that read: It’s odd being told to take scripture literally, but when you take Christ’s first sermon literally—“bring good news to the poor, health to the sick, set prisoners free, and liberate the oppressed”—you get told to stop being political and that social justice isn’t biblical (B. Cremer).

 

I was recently asked my view on the authority of scripture. I responded: Scripture as recorded in the Bible is the Word of God, inspired by God, written down and recorded by humans under the direction of God. The Old Testament, comprised of many different types of writing, written for many different purposes, records the story of God’s interaction with God’s people, primarily the Hebrew people as they move through cycles of knowing and being close to God, moving away from God, experiencing the consequences of this movement, and returning to God.  The New Testament is the story of God’s interaction with God’s people, all people, Jew and Gentile (Galatians 3:28), through Jesus Christ and Christ’s body, the church. The Story of God as recorded in the Bible is a story that remains alive and active through the work and interpretation of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit illuminates the truths of scripture and makes them applicable to current life and culture. It is because of the Spirit’s continued work through scripture that the Bible holds authority today. 

 

Dear God: Help us to stop arguing about a literal reading of scripture. Help us instead, through the Spirit, to read scripture as your living Word, ever-infused with new life and meaning. We are part of a larger Story that we cannot fully comprehend. Help us to move forward in that story, taking with us all that is You and leaving behind all that is not. Amen.