Hearing the Word

A couple of weeks ago, as a preview to teaching Paul’s letter to the Philippians over the next few months, I donned a biblical costume (now you know the main reason for growing the beard I am now sporting) and, as Paul, “dictated” the letter to Timothy while chained to a Roman guard. In this way, I was able to orally deliver the entire letter at one time to our congregation.

The response from the congregation was illuminating. While some seemed to marvel simply because I was able to do this from memory—not so hard since I had memorized most of it as a devotional exercise while in college—most went beyond that to sharing the impact it had on their understanding of Paul and his relationship with Christ as well as with the Philippian church. Not only did they receive the immediate context of some of their favorite verses—such as “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” and “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”—but they were able to hear someone give his interpretation of the letter through such things as voice inflection, mood, gestures, and posture.

This response is not new to me. I have also on several occasions presented the Sermon on the Mount (from Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7) in a similar manner. Most times I have dressed as Jesus—I have a nice wig to wear as part of that—although sometimes I have presented it simply dressed in the common garb of today. Either way, I have received comments such as, “I felt like I was there,” or “It seems different—and more powerful—when spoken rather than simply read.”

And it is that last comment that prompts this blog today.

The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We rightly interpret that to include the preaching of the word of God, but I am convinced that there is great power in hearing the word itself from the Bible.

We think of previous generations (when most people could not read) as being uneducated. However, we fail to appreciate the fact that many of them had a different kind of education—an oral education. Consider how important stories were passed from generation to generation not so much by the written word as by the spoken word. Think how many people memorized the words they heard so that they could faithfully pass it on to others. Uneducated people? Hardly! Witness the many people who marvel that I could memorize a few pages of the Bible, saying such things as, “I could never do that!”

And with the memorization and recitation came an oral interpretation of the stories. There are times the word is spoken loudly—and times when it is spoken as a whisper. Some of it goes fast, while other parts are presented more slowly. You get the picture. This is what we often miss from the word of God today. It would be great to have more and more of this going on.

Don’t get me wrong. We are blessed today to be able to have copies of God’s word to read, and we would be foolish to leave it unread! (This year, many of our church members are joining me in another “Read through the Bible in a year” challenge, one that I have done, I guess, over a dozen times over the years.) And reading allows us to make connections—by perusing the text over and over and looking forward and backward—that we might not make otherwise.

But I am now—because of the many comments I have received over the years—convinced of the great power of hearing (and experiencing) the word! I have never listened to the Bible all the way through in a year—I have listened to the New Testament on cassette tapes—but it is an idea that perhaps should be pursued. Some make a big deal of selling Bible tapes with celebrities reading the text. That doesn’t interest me. I would not be impressed with who reads the text but how they read it.

Paul told Timothy to give attention to the “public reading of Scripture.” It doesn’t always have to be an entire letter or sermon. It can be as simple as having a Scripture portion read as part of each week’s service (and not just as part of the sermon, though we need to have the Scripture central to the teaching ministry of the church.) In your family, you can read the Bible to each other as part of the practice of your faith. We have for years done that at a meal time. You can, too.

There are other ways to achieve this as well, I’m sure. We are creative people. So let’s put that to use. Want to grow in your faith? Remember what the word says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God!”