Word of God –  Hand Grenade On Your Bookshelf?

Pope Francis recently wrote:

I’ll tell you something: There are more persecuted Christians in the world today than in the early days of the Church.

They are persecuted because they wear a cross and bear witness to Jesus. They are convicted because they own a Bible. The Bible is therefore a highly dangerous book—so dangerous that you are treated in some countries as if you were hiding hand grenades in your closet.

It was a non-Christian, Mahatma Gandhi, who once said: “You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilization to pieces, turn the world upside down, and bring peace to a battle- torn planet. But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a piece of literature.”

As we approach Word of God Sunday, I explore two things that have opened my eyes to the significance of the Word of God.

St. Vincent’s imaginative reading of scripture

For some time now I have begun to appreciate a little-recognized factor in Vincent’s conversion to service of the poor.

There is evidence that in his 30’s Vincent began to read the Gospels imaginatively (St. Vincent’s use of Scripture). He began to imagine himself in the various people described in its pages. Seeing them through the eyes of Jesus and those being loved by him transported him to the early days of the Church.

He began to “put on the mind of Christ!”

As a result, Vincent dared to imagine a world where people took care of one another. He imagined what it would look like to take Jesus’ prayer, Our Father, seriously. He treated everyone, even and especially the forgotten people on the margins, as his sisters and brothers.

TV as a tool for entering the world of the scripture

The 18 episodes of The Chosen have been viewed some 400 million times around the world. Without realizing it viewers are tasting a kind of imaginative style of praying the scripture.

Personally, it never occurred to me that the apostles had full lives with families, jobs, commitments, and challenges, just like I do—and that Jesus disrupts all of that when he encounters them.

Now as I read the Gospels, I appreciate the difficulty that forming community would be for Jews like Simon and Andrew. They had had their exorbitant taxes collected by Matthew, an apostate. Now they were supposed to work with him as part of Jesus’ inner circle.

I can picture Simon the Zealot’s military training challenged by the non-violence of Jesus.

I see Mary Magdalene who bravely leaves her old ways behind. Yet she struggles to believe God’s love for her.

What I appreciate about “The Chosen” is that its creators acknowledge that we can never fully grasp his divinity. They stimulate appreciation of the complexity of the reactions of those who experienced Jesus.

These are reactions we can relate to today. And that is what this show captures so well.

I understand why the producers claim that they are not rewriting the scripture but providing plausible “back stories.” They hope that viewing each episode will spark people to enter the scriptures more seriously. It has had exactly that effect on me.

Celebrating Word of God Sunday

There are many excellent resources for celebrating Word of God Sunday.

I hope to celebrate a Word of God Month before Lent. Every time I watch an episode my mind discovers insights that help me experience what it was like to encounter Jesus in the midst of my daily life.

I suggest viewing an episode or two of the Chosen as one of the ways to celebrate Word of God Sunday.

PS How to watch The Chosen…

Click on the link. Then scroll down the left side to the box reading “Season” (just below the line Watch – About – Community – Impact.) Clicking on the box “Season” offers the choice of Seasons 1-3. Each episode will be listed with a thumbnail.