I was thinking this week about the two bibles I remember having as a kid. One, I know now, was the Revised Standard Version, the RSV. It had my name printed on it in red letters. I don’t remember if it had Jesus’ words in red letters, because - true confessions - I don’t remember ever opening it. It sat on the bookcase in my bedroom. I kind of think it might have been a gift at my confirmation in 1981.

The other bible I remember actually using. It was the Good News Bible – or, its full title, Good News for Modern Man. That one I know was a gift from my church growing up, and I actually do remember reading it, and using it in Sunday school. It had little stick figure black and white illustrations, and the text was written in language that I could understand. I liked that part. What I didn’t like is that it didn’t feel like it included me. That’s a discussion for another time; in terms of my Good News Bible, I think it got given away in some cleaning frenzy at some point, along with other childhood books that had ceased to have meaning for me.

It was after college, really, that I truly rediscovered the Bible and a translation – the New Revised Standard Version, the one we use here - that felt like it was talking to me. That opened up a whole new world, and it’s a world I’ve not yet grown tired of. The world of our holy scriptures. The Bible. The Word, capital W, of God.

Here’s what the letter to Timothy has to say about the Word: “As for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” What these words give us opportunity to reflect on, it seems to me, is what status our holy scriptures – the Bible – play in our own lives, our community life, the life of the church. Going backwards, it’s easy. Anglicanism has, since early on, talked about this ‘three-legged stool’ on which it stands: scripture, tradition, and reason. Scripture is always first. In our liturgy, we see the status holy scripture is given; we hear quite a bit of it, every week: two readings from the Old Testament, one always a psalm; and two readings from the New Testament, one always a gospel. Four opportunities, every service, to hear God’s Word. Plus all of the scripture that is quoted in our liturgy. The place the Bible holds in our church and life together is an exalted one, an important one. We could talk – and I have no doubt the conversation would be very lively – about what the words of scripture mean, and who gets to interpret them, and what authority they have. We could discuss, animatedly, I’m sure, what those words in our lesson ‘inspired by God’ actually mean. And I encourage you to think about that. For now, I want to get us thinking about what role the bible has for each of us personally.

For some, that might be not much of one. And if that’s the case for you, you might be perfectly fine with that. For others, the role of the bible in your spiritual life might be significant. For others, you might be thinking, I don’t even own a bible, I just hear it read in church. Some of you might have grown up in a tradition that has children memorize scripture, or at least the books of the bible in order; for others, you may not have opened a bible until you were an adult. None of which matters all that much, I don’t think. What matters, I would argue, is how we engage in scripture now. Do you read it, on your own, with others, or here at St. George’s? Do the words of scripture make any claim on you? Do they make a claim on our community? Do you know much about the bible; do you want to? Why does the bible play an important role in our faith and tradition?

As the beginnings of an answer to that question, I like to say that the bible is the history of a relationship, the relationship between God and God’s people. We see a portrait of a people that is sometimes beautiful, sometimes unflattering. We see a portrait of a God who is remarkable, awe-inspiring, occasionally incomprehensible. We see a God who is deeply, besottedly in love with this people, a God who expects this people to treat each other in certain way because of this love. We see a people who screw up, who fall short, who are stunningly compassionate and equally stunningly short-sighted – and we see a God who continues to love them, and expect something of them, and challenge them, and love them some more. And the ‘them’ I am talking about – that is also us. I love the bible and the stories of our holy scriptures because they speak to me directly. They speak to you directly. The speak to us directly. It’s not always easy to understand, or to follow – but the Word of God is an endlessly interesting and challenging invitation to relationship with this God. The bible tells us who we are and where we came from: we are made in the image of God. The bible tells us whose we are – we are God’s people. The bible gives us an identity. It gives us a purpose: to help bring the reign of God.

As I was doing some reading this week, and thinking about the bible’s claims on us and what it offers us. I found this quote I wanted to share with you, from a book of Barbara Brown Taylor’s. She says this about what the bible offers us in terms of our identity. “[I cannot] believe only what my culture tells me about myself. The bible gives me another authority to consult. When the culture treats me as if all I am good for is to produce or to consume, the Bible invites me to love. When the culture encourages me to think of myself as a rugged individualist, the Bible calls me to be a neighbor. W hen the culture conditions me to be a spectator on life, the Bible bids me to do justice, and love mercy, and walk humbly with my God. Over and over, the Bible offers me an alternative vision, not only of myself but of other people and ultimately of the world.” It’s this alternative vision we are given that keeps drawing me in to the Word of God. That the Word has been used against me – an experience some of you have had as well – does not diminish its power, or its life-giving qualities. The invitation for relationship is still there, for all of us.

I’ve never forgotten what my seminary professor of Old Testament told us once, when we were learning about Leviticus. She said that quoting from the Bible should never be the end of an argument, only the beginning. The words of scripture have power. They make a claim on us. Figuring out the nature of that claim is our work – and it is endlessly rewarding work.

I’m going to pause there this morning, and I say pause, rather than stop, because that’s the beauty of our holy scriptures: this is an ongoing discussion, between each of us and the bible, between our community of faith and our sacred scriptures. It’s never the end, so it’s easy enough to pause for now. I hope you will be interested enough to continue the conversation, in our Sunday morning Bible study, or at the lunch discussion group later today, or anywhere else with anyone else. The bible invites us into conversation, over and over.

I want to end right now with a prayer, a collect from the prayer book, a prayer about the bible. It offers us more opportunity for contemplation on the Word, and our relationship with it. Let us pray: “Blessed Lord, who caused all Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.”

Amen.

I’m going to ask for your attention as we shift gears to hear from Alix Volel-Stech, our treasurer. She is going to speak to us about our church budget, and where we are as a community right now. This is separate and distinct from our pledge campaign, I want to make that clear. Each one of us is asked to give, as we think about 2008, not to support the budget but as a spiritual practice, because we need to give, we need to practice saying thanks and being generous. As the bishop so eloquently put it last week, we’re hard wired to give.

And, there are also and always practical considerations, aside from the spiritual practice of giving. Alix is going to fill us in on where we are at this point for 2007, with two and a half months left in the year.

Alix speaks

Thank you, Alix. Here’s the bottom line: each of us is being asked to give a little more, right now. Not just your 2008 pledge card, but to add to your giving for 2007, between now and the end of the year. If you have already completed your pledge for the year, thank you. If you can give more, it would be very much appreciated. If you made a pledge for 2007 and you are right where you are supposed to be for this time of year – 75 to 80 % – thank you. If you can give more than you have pledged, please do. If you have made a pledge but have not fulfilled it to this point, please do everything you can to honor that pledge; we need you to honor your word and give what you promised to give to support St. George’s, and we thank you for all that you are able to do. If you did not make a pledge in 2007, but are giving, thank you. If you can give more, it would be very much appreciated.

A couple of weeks ago, Roy Peterson came up here and spoke about why he gives to St. George’s. I give because I need to, he told us. And now we’re also asking you to give because St. George’s needs you to. Thanks for your attention, and your generosity. The service continues with the prayers of the people.