Some like Cadbury’s; others prefer Green and Black. Tastes in chocolate vary. And the same is true of parts of the Bible. Some pages show more signs of wear than others. Most Bibles have well-thumbed pages of psalms and pristine-clear pages of ‘Numbers’. As far as ‘Acts’ goes, we turn more readily to what Paul said in Athens than what Peter declared in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
This is not only true. It is also blameless. What kind of a world would it be if we were not allowed to prefer Kipling to Rupert Brooke or Herbert to Donne? Who would blame us for finding more in Luther’s hymns than in those of Frances Alexander? Can we be faulted for esteeming the General Thanksgiving more highly than most other expressions of gratitude for all the benefits of creation and redemption?
We have our preferences and they have been apparent since the New Testament took shape. And they apply as strongly and tenderly to the speeches in ‘Acts’ as to any other parts of Scripture. When we read Luke’s account of Peter’s speech in Jerusalem, we are hardly surprised to recognise that it was designed for those who knew their Scriptures and were acquainted with their own religious history.
How different it was when Paul spoke, as Luke tells us, to the sceptical and measured audience in Athens! No assumptions about history, no patriotic propagandists who knew their stuff. Instead there were Stoics and Epicureans. Instead there was an argument from nature and a readiness to start with the audience where he found them.
We should not expect the Scriptures to draw us equally strongly or tenderly wherever we turn. Our needs and responses are far from uniform. We should be thankful for every time we find that Scripture speaks to us movingly in whatever frame of mind we find ourselves. What is right in G.K. Chesterton’s ‘Orthodoxy’ for Tuesday may be eclipsed by Rose Macaulay’s ‘The Towers of Trebizond’ on Wednesday. It is not surprising or disappointing that the Scriptures have a similar variety and appropriateness for us mortals.
A muted warning may be in order. We have to beware of anthologising the Bible, of taking from it only the bits we like. Selection can be betrayal. The Bible is a comprehensive revelation and it has to be respected as such. We must endeavour to see that our response to it is not only honest but as wholesale as we can manage.
LIFE ASCENDING
Catholics in Upper Norwood and Crystal Palace, London are celebrating 150 years of their church. ‘Life Ascending’ is the title of a Bible study group meeting every other Tuesday. The organisation started in Paris in 1971 and in Norwood in 1980.
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