Author: Logan Wescott, Peace Staff Member
This Sunday reminded me of something a pastoral mentor shared a few years back, “Scripture should speak to you in a new way every time you pick it up”. If you grew up with questionable theology (to put it nicely), you likely have encountered this reality. But what about when the Holy Spirit is moving to reveal two truths, both equally valuable for this moment. This past Sunday morning during 8am worship just such a revelation came to the forefront as two equally true readings of the text came to life in our group of Sunday Morning early birds.
Our conversation focused on the second reading (James 3 : 1 – 12). I joined the group just as a conversation about teachers came to life. We dived into a rich conversation about teachers. With a teacher in the room and generations of learners, a dynamic vision of who and how to teach came to life. We discussed the importance of teachers compared to other leaders. Why does James refer to teachers and not leaders generically or expand the teaching to include political leaders? Not because these parties are without responsibility, but because James is saying something particular about the importance of teachers within our communities because of the responsibility they hold to learners. We should not be surprised by this, Jesus has something to say about this too.
As worship came to a close, Communion shared, and the Lord’s Prayer said, I broke into a side conversation with another early bird. We returned to our James text, but my companion took the conversation in a new direction set apart from the group. Rather than staying on the topic of teachers, we got to talking about the power of words. Something had shifted, not within the text, it was literally the same bulletin we had all morning, rather something shifted within us.
So often we step into one understanding of scripture, and we get stuck there. Yes. It is a good thing to wrestle with scripture, dive deep into the text, and reflect with the hope that it just might seep into us and shape our lives. Next time you sit with scripture, consider how old and new knowledge of the text transforms your understanding. Appreciate how your lived experience shapes new ways of interpreting scripture. And do not be surprised if you start down a different journey toward understanding, finding yourself somewhere you had never expected.
