Halfway: Some reflections on our studies

I would not want anyone reading this blog to forget that my primary reason for coming to Jerusalem was to study scripture. The book and classroom work does not produce pretty pictures or stories of great adventure, but they are the reason I came and have an excitement all their own.

Anyone who knows me knows my great love for the Bible. In many ways, I am aware that this is a holdover from my Protestant roots and I am grateful for it. One of my real joys when in seminary came from the hard-core academic reading of Scripture. I loved looking at the texts systematically and tearing them apart to get to deeper and deeper meaning. Greater knowledge of the Scriptures has lead me to greater knowledge of God, which has in turn, lead me more deeply to God. As a preacher, the Word itself is the starting point and ending point of every homily, every sermon I preach. Preaching preparation is what demands an ongoing study of Scripture in my ministerial life.

But preaching preparation is not systematic Biblical study. It's "situational" and can lead to a kind of chopping the Scriptures up to focus on this or that little fragment of the larger text. And, in the midst of busy Pastoral life, there often isn't the time to do more. That is why this summer is such a gift and why, for me, the real adventure is in the classroom and in the studies. What a luxury to have all this time in the WORD!!!!! And it extends beyond the classroom - when we are at meals, when we are traveling to archaeological or Biblical sites, when we are in the sacristy preparing for liturgy, every question turns into a seminar. Ostensibly, we are here to study the synoptic Gospels. But one cannot study those texts in a vacuum. They lead us to the Hebrew Scriptures, to St. Paul, to Eschatalogical texts, to extra-Biblical works. And at the end of each day, I have much about which to ponder and the luxury of time to do so!

The approach we are taking to the Texts of the Gospels is comparative. Each class day, we approach a particular themewithin the Gospel tradition (healings, exorcisms, feedings and table fellowship, controversies, etc). in preparation for class, we have been given a list of texts from the Gospels to read and prepare for discussion. Discussion does not mean "what this text means to me in my Christian life..." We are using the tools of textual, historical, and editorial criticism to analyze these texts. We are looking at the theological themes and how each of the evangelists uses the particular stories or sayings or teachings to advance his theological project. We look at textual differences between the evangelist's retelling of the same events. The ultimate question addressed by each of the Evangelists is "Who is Jesus?" This is the same question every Christian must confront over and over again in our living of the Christian life. This systematic approach to the textual tradition of Christianity is helping me re-focus on that all-important question. The picture of Jesus that emerges from this kind of systematic analysis is amazing! Throw in the mix an ongoing education in the history and culture that produced the Gospels (from our travels and site visits) and, as you might imagine, I will never be able to read the Bible the same again. The hours spent in preparing texts and discussions in our seminars are intense, but what a gift! What a gift!

Throughout our time here, of course we don't get a"break from religious life" - we re living in community with all the demands of our community life. Among those demands is to take our turn celebrating Mass and preaching. For the English Mass we celebrate each day, these duties rotates among me and my classmates. I am already experiencing a rejuvenation in my approach to homily preparation. Even for daily Masses (remember, I am preaching to preachers) I am spending a lot more time in the text. Each day the name of a place that we have visited or a text we have studied emerges in the liturgy. And the wonderful richness of our textual treasures comes alive more.

I was asked by a friend the other day if I was homesick. I answered "no." The reality is that I haven't had time to be homesick in the month I have been away. Every experience is a new one and every corner provides a blessing. If I am honest, sure I miss important people in my life, but I am so enjoying the blessings of study, that I am not anxious to give it up. I still have another month here and there are some exciting travels still on the horizon (the Dead Sea, Masada and Qumran, Galilee, and Jordan). But the real adventure is in the Text and while I will take great memories of Jerusalem with me when I go home, I can't take Jerusalem with me , or Galilee, or Qumran, or Petra - but I CAN take the Scriptures - and in that, I know that the adventure will continue.

Thanks for all of you who are reading this blog and for those who take time to comment. I promise that there are many more adventures to write about in the next month!