Sometimes reading the Bible can feel like standing on the outside of a bustling city with a great big wall. We know that there is a world of activity inside the wall, but we have no idea how to get in. We hear that there are people inside but can’t figure out how they got in. What we need to know is where the gates are, where the doors are, or where there might be cracks in the wall so that we can sneak in. How do we get into the world of the Bible? That’s what we’re going to be learning this fall: how to enter into the world of the Bible.

I’m calling the class “Five Lenses” because we’ll be learning from five great theologians on how to read the Bible. Each theologian has things that catch their eye, and they help us see some things that we can’t see on our own. The goal is to see what they see in the text, to read the Bible through their eyes. Or, in the city analogy, each of our theologians is a city native; they know how to get past the wall. Sometimes they lead us through great big gates, sometimes they lead us through tiny cracks in the wall. In any respect, they can guide us into the world of the Bible.

Here’s what we’ll do: each week, we’ll explore their style of reading scripture, and try our hand at entering reading the Bible the way that they do. We’ll practice seeing what they see. We’ll look especially at their sermons. How they preach tells us how they read. The goal is to learn to read how they read.

In the beginning of the class, I’ll explore a sermon from a theologian—Episcopal priest, Fleming Rutledge, for example—and I’ll describe what I think she looks for when she picks up the Bible. What would catch her eye? How does she get into the city? And then we’ll, as a group, try to read the Bible the way that she does. It’ll be a collective work, aimed at learning one lens a week, finding one door a week. If this sounds intimidating, I’ll have lots of ways to make this fun and simple. Practice makes perfect!

If you’re curious—if you feel like you don’t know what to look for when you read the Bible, if you feel like you’re on the outside of the city—please come. It will be a lot of fun. We’ll be trying different styles on each week in October. Dinner is from 5:30-6:30, and teaching is from 6:30-7:30.

Children will join Alex and adult volunteers after dinner for their own programming and games! They’ll have a chance to act out passages of Scripture with Alex, similar to what we did during Lent with the Gospel of John. If this sounds interesting to your kids, but you’re not interested in the adult program, they’re still more than welcome and you can help Alex lead this program. We need at least one parent volunteer each week! Nursery care will be provided for kids too young to participate.

Garrett

Learn more about other important updates in the latest church newsletter: The Epistle – October 3, 2024