Micah 6:8
Isaiah 55:10-13
Yes, your life matters.
We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?
This past Wednesday's post on reading aloud reminded me of a great reading experience I had nearly 21 years ago.
I heard about it on the radio - a program from the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, in fact - Proclamation, a project of the Canadian Bible Society that helped churches to organise public oral readings of the entire Bible. "What a great idea," I thought. "After all, we have a new sanctuary and a new Bible for the lectern - why not read that whole Bible into that new worship space?" and so GPUMC's Proclamation 2000 was born.
Over the course of ten days, scores of members came to the Sanctuary to read parts of the Bible aloud into that room. We each read from both the Old and New Testaments, with each session including an Old Testament reading, a reading from the Psalms, a Gospel reading, and another reading from the New Testament.
Here's a quick remembrance of it from a Lenten devotion I wrote in 2001 after that experience (which was awesome in the literal sense):
Great Was The Company Of The Preachers
“So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the manner for which I sent it.” - Isaiah 55:11
The first thing I remember is the smell of the wood early in the morning. What a serene space I was in ... yet I was so keyed up.
Turn the lights on, turn the sound system on, open the Book and read - to no one, to myself, to God, to everyone - "In the beginning, when God created ...."
That's how Proclamation started at 7 AM on Wednesday, May 24, 2000 AD. Aldersgate Day, the anniversary of John Wesley's conversion experience, when he had his "heart strangely warmed," and I was finding my whole life "strangely warmed."
I've heard the same kind of thing from countless participants in our congregation's ten-day journey through the whole Bible. We found the experience of reading the Scripture to be even more moving than we had expected. It didn't matter if we were reading the account of Creation, or a list of the sons of Esau; about Jesus walking on water, or the list of who begat whom from Adam to Jesus. It really didn't matter, because we were part of something special, something grand and important; we were reading God's Word from start to finish, from that first "In the beginning" of Genesis to the final "Amen" of Revelation.
Thinking back on my reading, it seems a bit odd that I was surprised by the Joy of it. After all, one very good way of looking at the Bible is as sixty-six love letters from God to me: why would I be surprised at the delight of reading that?!
Bible study has been an important part of my life for quite a few years now, but the experience of Proclamation, reading the whole Bible in such a short time, was something I'll never forget: it was a wonderful reminder that God's Word will always speak to us, if we will only listen.
Today, why not read a chapter from one of the books of the Bible which you've never read? If you want some suggestions, how about 1 John, 2 Peter, Ezra, Amos, Malachi, …. I know God will speak to you through His word, and it will not return to Him empty. Praise God! Amen.
Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.
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