During World War II, a soldier was stationed on an island in the South Pacific. Seeing him, one of the island’s inhabitants approached him and showed him a copy of the Holy Bible he had received from a missionary several years prior. The soldier told him, “O, we’ve outgrown that sort of thing.” The native smiled back and said, “Well, it’s a good thing we haven’t because if it weren’t for this book, you would be our evening meal.”
If you ever have to sit down with me and watch one of my favorite movies, I don’t guarantee you’ll appreciate it as much as I do. It is an odd and eclectic mix and, I confess, often violent, but let’s be honest, you’ve got to kill a zombie. One that came out in 2010 (no zombies but quite violent and rough language) was The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington. What is interesting, given the violence and language, is the fact that The Book of Eli appears on a number of best Catholic film lists. Why? It is about a man, Eli, living in a post-apocalyptic world trying to save the last known copy of the Holy Bible.
Without spoiling the movie, I’ll tell you that another character, Carnegie (played by Gary Oldman), wants Eli’s Bible. Carnegie will go to any means necessary to have it. However, for Carnegie’s men, going to so much trouble for one book seems like a waste of time and resources, especially since so many are getting killed over it.
Regarding Eli and the book, Carnegie tells one of his chiefs, “Put a crew together; we’re going after him.”
“For a __ book?” The man snaps back.
Carnegie rages, “IT’S NOT [JUST A] BOOK! IT’S A WEAPON! A weapon aimed right at the hearts and minds of the weak and the desperate. It will give us control of them. If we want to rule more than one small, ___ town, we have to have it. People will come from all over; they’ll do exactly what I tell ’em if the words are from the book. It’s happened before, and it’ll happen again. All we need is that book.”
That would be funny if it weren’t true.
Robert Seiple, former president of World Vision, writes, “In 1915, A Russian Armenian was reading his Bible when he was beheaded. I saw the Bible—large, thick, and well-used. Inside was a reddish stain that permeated most of the book. The stain was the blood of this man, one of more than a million casualties of a religious and ethnic holocaust. About 70 years later, a large shipment of Bibles entered Romania from the West, and Ceausescu’s (dictator of Romania) lieutenants confiscated them, shredded them, and turned them into pulp. Then they had the pulp reconstituted into toilet paper and sold to the West.”
People want to take the Bible, weaponize it, and use it for gain, and others see it as so dangerous that they want to destroy it. One book is causing so much trouble. However, in America, studies show that we don’t read it and don’t think much of it.
To be a member in good standing of the Episcopal Church, you only have to receive communion three times a year. That’s pretty low. When it comes to reading the Bible, American Christians as a whole aren’t much better. The American Bible Society “defines Bible users as people ‘who use the Bible at least 3–4 times each year on their own, outside of a church setting.’”
We have a Book that people fight and die for, but we, as a Christian people, don’t give it much thought. Why?
My opinion—and that is what it is—is that it is too convenient. We’ve never had to fight for it. In this country, it’s a bit like running water. We don’t give it much thought unless, for some reason, we have to do without it. That is my opinion; however, Barna’s Christian research group has a more researched opinion.
Barna states, “We have shifted from being a nation in which people believed that right and wrong—i.e., morality—was defined by the Bible. We now live in a nation where only 42 percent believe that the Bible is true, accurate, and relevant, and where the largest share of adults believes there is no absolute moral truth, that all truth is determined by the individual.
“On what basis do they determine ‘their’ truth? Primarily emotions: if it feels like the right or appropriate thing to do, say, or believe, then that becomes the course of action, no questions asked.” (Source)
In other words, when it concerns the Bible, we’re like that World War II soldier, “We’ve outgrown that sort of thing.” Because of that attitude, the cracks are beginning to show.
In the time of Nehemiah, the people had returned to Jerusalem after being exiled to Babylon. In our reading today from Nehemiah, the people have completed rebuilding the walls around the city and have come together for one purpose—now that the city walls are restored, they want to restore their hearts to God. To do this, they ask that the Book of the Law be read so a day is set and a platform built.
Generally, the Scriptures would have been read in the synagogue, but this day was special. We read, “Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen,’ lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” For about six hours, the people stood and attentively listened to God’s Word. When the reading was complete, the people got down on their knees, bowed their heads to the ground, and worshipped.
They worshipped because they had been provided the opportunity to hear God speak. Then, of all things, they wept. They cried over hearing God’s word. Why? It could have been for joy at knowing that through God’s word, they were being restored. It could have been bitter tears from knowing their sins and how far they had fallen. They could have been crying over the beauty of the message. They were likely crying for all these reasons and more, which led Nehemiah to tell them not to. He wanted them to rejoice in the Word of God and the fact that God, in His goodness and mercy, had provided them with a written document on how to maintain relationship with Him. And it is for this very reason that we, too, should be reading the Bible daily. It contains the words of life and, more importantly, the words of our God.
Preaching in the fourth century, St. John Chrysostom tells his congregation, “I exhort you, and I will not cease to exhort you to pay heed not only to what is said here, but when you are home also you should occupy yourselves attentively with the reading of Holy Scripture…. The reading of Scripture is a great defense against sin. Ignorance of the Scripture is a great misfortune, a great abyss. Not to know anything from the word of God is a disaster. This is what has given rise to heresies, to immorality; it has turned everything upside down.”
Seven or eight years ago, I had kidney stones—a most unpleasant experience. After the procedure, I still had some issues. My doctor responded to those issues: “Drink more water.” I said, “There’s also this going on.” He said, “Drink more water.” “And what about this,” I asked. “Drink more water.” When it was sorted out, I asked my doctor how I could prevent them in the future. He said, “Drink more water.” I began to see a trend.
Would you like to know more about God and how He works in the world? Read your Bible. Would you like to know about God’s plan for your life? Read your Bible. Would you like to have a better understanding of the world around you? Read your Bible. Would you like help getting from one day to the next? Read your Bible. See the trend? Don’t have a Bible? I’ll buy you one. Need help reading the Bible? Let’s talk.
Writing in the sixth century, St. Isidore says, “If a man wants to be always in God’s company, he must pray regularly and read regularly. When we pray, we talk to God; when we read, God talks to us.” Read your Bible. You haven’t outgrown it. Let God talk to you.
Let us pray: Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Candle in a Cave 