Nehemiah 5:1-19
“And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. 7Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. 8So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” (Nehemiah 5:5-8)
This is why we have Sunday School.
If you ever wondered where that idea came from, it is right here. The people are gathered and the Word of God is read. But it is not just read. It’s also interpreted by those with the authority and commission to provide such an interpretation.
It isn’t that individual study of scripture is a bad thing. “Devotional reading” most certainly has its place in the Christian life. But devotional reading is really a conversation between you and God. It’s a way of saying, “Hello God! Whatcha got for me today?” and then turning to scripture for that answer. In many regards, there is no “wrong” reading of scripture when it’s done as a devotional discipline. (I mean, obviously, there are limits. If you’re reading scripture and you think God is telling you to go kick your neighbor’s dog, maybe that isn’t God speaking?).
But individual/devotional reading was and is never enough for the people of God. No, the Word must be opened up in a communal setting where there are authorized teachers who have the authority to interpret the text. Indeed, one of the ways that the church truly becomes a community of disciples is through the very act of reading/interpreting. My favorite theologian (and the guy I wrote my dissertation on), Stanley Hauerwas, defines the Church as an “interpretive community.” I really like that. It signals that scripture does not have a constant, static meaning, but rather through the process of gathering, reading, and following the leading of the Holy Spirit, we learn what this passage or that means for us in this time. It’s one of the ways that scripture stays relevant, even as it is read in different cultures and at different times over the last 2,000 years.
Of course, understanding the Church as “an interpretive community” means that our membership is no more static than scripture itself. Rather, we are part of the community only as we perform our interpretive task with others. Cut off from this communal act of interpretation, we find ourselves cut off from the Church, in general. That’s the hard news of this passage.
Again, though, this is why we have Sunday School. Sunday School is the time and place in which we gather to read and interpret. And so, I invite you to Sunday School. Beginning on Sunday, December 5, CRE Dick Mickley will begin a devotional study through Advent. He’ll be using Walter Brueggemann’s amazing book Celebrating Abundance. The church has purchased 20 copies of this and is offering it to individuals/households free of charge. (You’ll want to pick up your copy before the start of Advent on Sunday, November 28, even though the first class discussion won’t be until a week later). Each day throughout Advent, Brueggemann provides a short, one-to-two page meditation. In this way, Brueggemann will also be part of your “interpretive community.”
If this doesn’t work for you, the impetus remains the same: Find and become part of an interpretive community. Amen.
