Friday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time and
Saint Ephraem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church
Readings for the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
Biographical Information about Saint Ephraem

First Published: Friday, June 09, 2006

More than Words

Reflection:

We hear today in the words of Paul to Timothy a philosophy that is foundational to the Catholic Church. It is quoted prominently in the Dogmatic Constitution On Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum. It defines our use of Holy Scripture which is critical to our understanding of how God revealed himself to us.

St. John has told us:

"We announce to you the eternal life which dwelt with the Father and was made visible to us. What we have seen and heard we announce to you, so that you may have fellowship with us and our common fellowship be with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:2-3)

Now in Pauls 2nd Letter to Timothy we hear:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

This central passage in our understanding of scripture is super important to us. It describes Holy Scripture as Inspired by God. It is not saying that God somehow dictated these incredible texts and that each jot and tittle is meant to be interpreted literally.

This one distinction separates a large body of Christians from the Church. The Fundamentalists or Biblical Literalists which includes many of our Baptist and Pentecostal brethren believe that Holy Scripture must be interpreted literally and, in some cases (see Bob Jones University and Pensacola Christian College) have taken it one step further and said that only one translation, the King James Version, is legitimate scripture.

We understand that by taking Holy Scripture to the level of understanding that some of these groups have, we see God put in a box. Gods revelation through Holy Scripture is complete, however, he manifests himself to us daily and in that manifestation, he deepens our understanding of what He intended to show us in scripture. Our understanding of Him changes.

The same is true of scripture scholars. Individuals schooled in ancient languages are constantly exploring early texts, refining their understanding of the original authors and continuing to provide insights into the meaning of the word. Generally speaking and in light of modern scholarship, the King James Version is a poor English translation of the Vulgate (The Latin translation of the Septuagint (the first Greek Translation) by St. Jerome).

It modifies the Canon of Holy Scripture leaving out what many Protestant Groups call the Apocrypha. Its Old English verbiage was perhaps well written for its first audience back in the 15th century when it was first published, but is not easily understood today. To the point of the Canon of Holy Scripture I again defer to Dei Verbum:

The words of the holy fathers witness to the presence of this living tradition, whose wealth is poured into the practice and life of the believing and praying Church. Through the same tradition the Church's full canon of the sacred books is known, and the sacred writings themselves are more profoundly understood and unceasingly made active in her; and thus God, who spoke of old, uninterruptedly converses with the bride of His beloved Son; and the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel resounds in the Church, and through her, in the world, leads unto all truth those who believe and makes the word of Christ dwell abundantly in them (see Col. 3:16).

In the end, what really matters is that we constantly break open the Word of God in Holy Scripture. That we do our best to understand what God is saying to us each day and to follow, as best we can, what he asks of us. Pax