Essay 2 (9-28-03)

HAVING AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE TEXT

While there may be a place for "rules" in biblical interpretation, I herein suggest an approach to Scripture that transcends rules. It might be described by what Alexander Campbell called "understanding distance" – which he, by the way, listed as a rule: We must come within understanding distance (Rule 6 in his Christian System).

Campbell referred to those who come within an understanding distance of the Bible as being within a circle – outside of which one cannot hear. God is at the center of the circle and humility is its circumference, he says. "The light reaches us without any effort of our own," he allows, "but we must open our eyes." To come within understanding distance is to come with but one aim, one ardent desire, and that is to know and to do the will of God. Campbell believed that when one does this, the Bible will not be difficult for him to understand. It is to have a heart for God and a hunger for his word. Such ones will be "filled" in that they will distinctly hear and understand God’s voice, Campbell insisted.

There is another way of putting it. We are not only to come within understanding distance of the text, but we are to move within its context and see ourselves as part of what is taking place. We "encounter" the text in that we become a part of the scene. We too are there – with Moses or Jesus or Paul – we hear what is said and see what is happening. We can even "feel" the charge in the air.

That is a marvelous thing about the Bible. Its writers take us right into the scenes they are describing. We hear what is said – even the most intimate conversations. When Jesus bares his agonizing soul to the Father, we are allowed to listen in. When he takes his three most trusted disciples into the mount of transfiguration with him, we go along too. When Moses and Elijah appear – from heaven no less! — we are there to see them. When a cloud covers Jesus and he is transfigured, and God speaks from heaven, declaring him his Son, we are there to see and hear it. Wow!

When Moses approaches the burning bush, he is alone with God. It is an episode in "the Story" that changes the course of history – out in a desert. No one on earth is there except God and Moses – and us! The writer gloriously places us right at the scene. We feel Moses’ anxiety. We are there when God calls him by name and tells him to remove his sandals, for he stands on holy ground. We stand there too.

An encounter with the text – which involves both heart and head involvement – might prove painful. When we hear our Lord tell the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18), we might see ourselves more like the Pharisee "who prided himself on being upright" than the humble tax collector who could say no more than "God, be merciful to me a sinner."

When we follow Paul through Romans as he again and again nails us all as sinners – "There is none righteous, no not one" – we might be tempted to suppose he overstates his case. And must we take Paul seriously when he insists that "Covetousness is idolatry"? I might confess to my share of greed – but idolatry? And when we are present on the night of the betrayal -- when all Jesus’ disciples forsake him -- can we really picture ourselves as remaining faithful to him through that dreadful night? And when Easter morn came and not a single disciple believed he would rise – even after he told them again and again – would we believe?

And we must realize that even when we integrate the text into our own lives – which is what an encounter does – we still may not understand. Even if we heard our Lord say with his own lips, "The kingdom of heaven is within you," we still might not get it, even as his apostles did not. Had we heard the centurion say as he watched Jesus die, "In truth this man was Son of God," we still might not know just what he meant, being the Roman that he was. An encounter may even deepen the wonder and mystery of Scripture – all the more reason for the encounter!

You get the point. An encounter is a way of getting into the Bible -- with heart, head, and imagination. It is like a soldier far from home reading a letter from his wife. He is not simply reading words on a page, applying rules of hermeneutics. He reads with heart and soul as well as mind. She writes, "I had to take little Jane to the doctor today – a fever of some sort. The doctor gave her some medicine but isn’t sure what’s wrong. She’s asleep just now, but still has fever." That soldier has an "encounter with the text." He’s in that room a thousand miles away. He is at Jane’s beside, holding her hand. He "sees" his dear wife writing that letter as she watches over their little girl.

Can we read Acts 20:36-38 that way? Paul has just addressed the elders of the church at Ephesus, recalling the three years he labored with them in the gospel. He is on his way to Jerusalem, and then on to Rome, where imprisonment and death await him. He kneels down and prays with them. They all weep freely, Luke tells us, especially because he had said, "You will see my face no more." They embrace the apostle and kiss him. Then they accompany him to the boat.

Those three verses were not necessary to the history Luke was writing. He could have easily omitted that scene. It is emotional, addressing the heart. The doctor wanted to show how human the story of the early church is.

Can we not feel with those elders – who had just been warned by the apostle that grievous wolves would soon work havoc among them – as they bade farewell to the aging apostle? Can we not weep with them? Can we not also hug Paul’s neck and kiss him goodbye? And tag along as they accompany him to the boat? And stand there with them as they watch through tear-dimmed eyes as the boat disappears on the distant horizon?

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