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READING THE BIBLE
What kind of book is this?
Contemporary readers have certain expectations when we pick up something to read. We expect it to be short. We expect it to have a clear beginning, middle, and end. We expect it to grab us right away and to keep us reading. If it fails in any of these respects, there are a thousand other websites, newspapers, magazines, and books clamoring for our attention.
Reading the New Testament is different from other kinds of reading we do. For one thing, the texts themselves are quite different from other texts we encounter. The four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles are the easiest to approach because they tell a familiar story. And yet, we are not used to reading four different and yet equally important versions of the same story. The four Gospels are not sequels or prequels: each in its own way tells the whole story of Christ. While many key events appear in all four Gospel accounts, each author recalls them in their own way, giving some details while omitting others: for example, when Saint Luke tells of the birth of Jesus he mentions shepherds but no star and no wise men—they appear only in Matthew. These differences occur because the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles grew out of an oral tradition, in which the stories and teachings of Jesus were passed on by word of mouth. Only later—most probably during the second half of the first century—did these stories begin to be written down. Not all the Gospel writers had access to the same oral and written sources about Jesus. They were also writing for different communities, and thus gave emphasis to different aspects of Jesus and his teaching. We do not have to choose among them: there is only one Gospel, “the fourfold Gospel, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John” (Dei Verbum, 18).
The other New Testament books can be harder for contemporary readers to approach because they do not tell stories at all: they are letters. The New Testament contains twenty-one letters, written to communities and individuals in the early years after Christ’s resurrection. These letters are usually addressed to a local Church or person, indicated in the title of the letter, and they are often written for a specific purpose—sometimes to encourage (as in the letters to Timothy or the letters of John), sometimes to teach and explain (as in the Letter to the Hebrews and many of Saint Paul’s letters), and sometimes to correct problems (as when Saint Paul writes to the Galatians). These letters contain wisdom and instruction that are timeless, and every bit as true for Christians of today. They also contain information that is more relevant to the time in which they were written. Knowing the context for the letters is helpful in understanding what they have to say to us today.
The New Testament ends with a book that is neither narrative nor letter. The Book of Revelation belongs to the genre of eschatological or apocalyptic literature— that is, writings about the end of the world. It contains a series of visions of heaven and the end times, sometimes beautiful, sometimes frightening. Much of the imagery parallels Old Testament apocalyptic writings, especially the book of Daniel.
If you find reading the Bible difficult, do not get discouraged. The Bible is not—and never has been—self-explanatory. Nor is it a book to devour in one sitting; rather, it should be savored, verse-by-verse. Join a Bible study group in your church or parish. Take advantage of the many resources, both in print and online, which are available to help you read it fruitfully.