On the Importance of Scripture in a Hermit's Life

[[Hi Sister Laurel, How important is Scripture in the life of a diocesan hermit? I have never learned to appreciate Scripture very much, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to me always when I try to read it. Is there something that could help me with this?]]

 Personally I feel that Scripture is essential to the life of a hermit. We are called above all to be persons who are in dialogue with the Word of God. That is really the essence of our solitude --- and the foundation of our identities as persons. The fruit of this dialogue is characterized as "the silence of solitude," which is really the charism or gift of this vocation given by God to the Church and world in such lives. My own vow of obedience describes my life as "an expression of God's Solitary Word" and binds me to attentive hearkening (listening and responding) to this Word in all the ways it comes to me, whether that is through Scripture, Sacraments, Church teaching, superiors or others. While I don't mention all of these, they are at least implicitly included, but especially Scripture itself. The vow reads:

[[I acknowledge and accept that God is the author of my life and that through his Word, spoken in Jesus Christ, I have been called by name to be. I affirm that in this Word, a singular identity has been conferred upon me, a specifically ecclesial identity which I accept and for which I am forever accountable. Under the authority of the Bishop of the Diocese of Oakland, I vow to be obedient: to be attentive and responsible to Him who is the foundation of my being, to his solitary Word of whom I am called to be an expression, and to the whole of His People to whom it is my privilege to belong and serve.]]

Each day I read, study, and pray with Scripture. Most weeks I write at least one reflection on some Lectionary selection. Besides writing on eremitical life my blog most often includes pieces on Scripture, and if I look back over the past years, especially since I began being more active at my parish, one of the most formative dimensions of my life is an increased focus on Scripture which my pastor has encouraged and assisted with. (He has facilitated my attending several workshops on the Gospels or other dimensions of the Scriptures and we tend to share whenever we are reading something really good the other would be excited by --- or we think the other would be excited by!!) Also, where five years ago I really didn't much care for the Gospel of Luke (apart from his unique parables and Lord's Prayer), I have come to really appreciate what Luke does with Luke-Acts. Meanwhile I love more deeply Paul's epistles, the Gospel of Mark, and have become completely fascinated by Jesus as "parabler" and how his parables function to work miracles and initiate us into the Kingdom of God.  As a theologian I am exhilarated by narrative theology and its possibilities for proclaiming God's Gospel effectively. More fundamentally, as a human being I am one in whom this every day world and the Kingdom proclaimed in the Scriptures vie for sovereignty; more and more the stories of the Scriptures define who I am as God's own word event.

My point is that all of this is a function of spending time with the Scriptures day in and day out or at least on a regular basis. Your own commitment in time is as important as mine (your identity is also founded on the Word of God); it will also no doubt differ from mine and that is entirely as it should be, but one needs to be patient and persistent nonetheless.

In finding something that assists you I would suggest several different things. The first is to commit to giving this a proper chance and that means committing to maybe 1/2 hour of grappling with the Scriptures per day. Next, you need a translation of the Scriptures you can read easily and resonate with. There are a lot of good translations out there but avoid the King James, and any versions which are paraphrases (New Living Bible --- which should probably be called the New Once-living Bible since it tends to be Scripture eviscerated). Find yourself a Bible you will care about owning and will feel good about carrying with you occasionally and reading when you have the opportunity. (If you feel embarrassed about bringing a Bible with you think about that; I suspect a lot of people feel that way --- although they would not feel that way if they were carrying a burse and pyx with them containing consecrated hosts). One version of the Scriptures I am now recommending is Marcus Borg's chronological arrangement of the New Testament, The Evolution of the Word. It is rather stunning to see the "books" arranged in (as well as can be determined) the order in which they were actually written --- even when one has known the order for years because of one's studies. It is also a good translation.

Next, choose something you can read WITH Scripture (especially AFTER you have read the daily passage a few times on your own). One of the best series of books out there is by NT (Tom) Wright. Each volume is named after a different book of the Bible along with "For Everyone" --- thus Mark for Everyone, Matthew for Everyone, etc. These ARE NOT the study guides by a similar title. You can get the volumes for all four Gospels at once (6 volumes for about $70) or you can get them as you go (probably good to begin with). Wright also has several volumes out on Lenten readings (years A, B, C) and on the Sunday readings (Years A, B, and C are available singly or in a single volume). If you decided each week to ONLY focus on the Sunday readings (entirely legitimate!!!), that would be terrific and you could use these as well. Another author that has some good reflections for each Sunday of the year is Jose Pagola (Following in the Footsteps of Jesus). There are MANY other books of reflections, etc which can assist you (including small pamphlets like Magnificat) so I would suggest you speak to your pastor for his own suggestions or to others in your parish that read Scripture regularly. Alternately you can email me about what does and does not work for you and we can find something that is helpful. By the way, if you own a Kindle or similar device you can carry your Bible and other books on there easily and unobtrusively --- though it is not always as easy to access select passages.

If your parish has a Bible study program consider committing to that. (Be aware that some programs call themselves Bible study and involve no actual study or expertise in Scripture whatsoever; if your desire is to learn about Scripture you are probably looking for something which is more than a faith sharing session even while it includes this dimension.) You will need to do a bit of shopping around most likely. In any case, give some thought to these things and if you have more questions feel free to email me.

You and I and every other Christian (every other human being for that matter) are and are called to BE a dialogue with God. THAT is what makes us genuinely human and what diminishes us most profoundly when it is missing, compromised, or mitigated. One of the ways we make sure the truth of this is real in our own lives is by an assiduous engagement with Scripture. These are the stories from which we live, the characters we should know intimately, and a context which makes a different sense of our lives than do other contexts. The Church is clear that Christ's presence in the proclaimed Scriptures is as real as it is in the Eucharist; thus we have a liturgy of the Word and a liturgy of the table. Both dimensions of Mass are salvific and Sacramental.

I hope this is helpful.