January 27, 2024 — “The Most Loved of All Books”

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.  And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.” Luke 4:16-30

There are many places today where the bible is not welcome – and there are plenty of people who have never read the bible. I was talking to a woman the other day about a service for her deceased mother, and I asked her if they wanted a particular scripture passage read at the service. She told me she had her mother’s bible, and then she exclaimed: “The bible is really hard to read – I feel stupid reading it.” And I said, “The bible is hard to read, but that is why we need to keep on trying.”

I know the statistics say that the bible is the bestselling book of all time, and yet, I find it funny how many people have never read it. People have a copy in their home, perhaps it was given to them as part of an estate sale – and yet they have not read it, cracked it open, or even tried because, like my friend listed above, they feel stupid trying to understand it. But we cannot learn to appreciate what is in the Bible by staring at it – or keeping it locked away in a drawer.

My friends, we need to become more Biblically literate so that we can help others become Biblically literate. There are so many translations and Study Bibles printed today that everyone should be able to find a copy that speaks to them – if not is understandable to them. If you are having trouble finding a version of the Bible that is helpful and understandable, just ask your pastor for some help.

Let us pray: Lord you have the words of eternal life. Remind me everyday that I need to read Your word – read it and live by it. Amen.

Pastor Dave