This is how my reading of the Gospels has been improving lately - how the books I have been reading and other things have helped me to become aware of or change bad or lazy habits of reading.
1.) Improved appreciation of the big-picture story told in each of the four Gospels.
I don't know about you, but most of the time when I read the Bible, it's in short bits. And then because I'm forgetful, I don't pick up next time at the place where I left off, but start somewhere else. As a result, I know the pieces a lot better than I know how they fit together into the larger narrative picture. Also I blame the format of a lot of the Bibles I have. The New American Bible is one of the worst offenders here. I hate those bold headings at the top of every paragraph - they make the Gospels look and feel like collections of loosely connected vignettes. Lately, though, I have been listening in the car to cds I have of a book-on-tape of the New Testament. When I turn off the car, the cd player stops and when I start again it picks up where I left off. And I have been having to spend a lot of time in the car lately. Have you ever thought about why each story or event occurs in the order it occurs in? I know I didn't all that much. I think I am getting a better appreciation of the shape of the story arc, and of how the presentation of the Four Gospels differ from one another.
Also, Wright (whom I've been reading) insists that you should not view Jesus' parables and teaching simply as "timeless truths," by which he means that you should not view Jesus merely as some wise teacher like the Buddha or Confucius or somebody who could have come along at any time to say things that would be equally appropriate or comprehensible at any time in history (which would raise the question of why bother to have Jesus do what some prophet or inspired Wisdom book could have done?). Not that this idea is really how we think of him - but it is ingrained enough in the culture that it probably affects you to some degree. "What time is it?" is a very important question for Wright. When Jesus comes, he is the Messiah, and he comes to not only to announce but also to bring about the End Times - the establishment of the Reign of God. Therefore when you look at His stories and teaching you should keep in mind how they are timely and appropriate for ushering in the Kingdom of God.
2.) Historical context - why people do the things they do
It's not as though I had no idea that Jesus was a different sort of Messiah than what people were expecting. Being a Christian with lots of history between then and now gives the advantage of lots of good theological reflection and development (everything is clearer with hindsight, you know). But it's easy to take that for granted anyway, and to read the OT only noticing spiritual interpretations that apply to us that, while valid, weren't obvious to people then, and forgetting about the things that were foremost in their minds.
Maybe in another post I'll talk about what N.T. Wright got me thinking about about the relationship between the Temple and Jesus, and His actions and the OT prophets. Hint: read Zechariah, Daniel, and Jeremiah.
I don't think your trackbacks are working, so: http://burned-bridges.net/contrariwise/2007/06/20/learning-to-love-the-book/
Posted by: Lindsay | June 20, 2007 at 10:41 PM