It is said that the Bible is the world's best-selling book, but not the most widely read. Whether such a remark be true or not we are glad that on the second Sunday in Advent - Bible Sunday - the special prayer, the Collect, is on the subject of Bible reading: "Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace and for ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ."
We ask God not only to help up to hear, read, mark and learn the Holy Scriptures, but also to digest them inwardly. It might be thought of as an unusual phrase to use in relation to Bible reading. On reflection one sees its suitability. It presupposes a trust and liking for the dish available, and a desire and appetite to receive and absorb it into our whole being. Feeding regularly on a diet of faith, hope and love from Christ, it becomes natural to us to wish to embrace and hold on to the way of love and life in Christ.
Jesus often quoted from the scriptures of his day. It is clear that he was deeply schooled in them. They were inwardly digested and were a very part of His being. At a critical moment Mary, His mother, noticed his reciting of words she taught him from the psalms: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me".
In times of crisis or bereavement we can appreciate the miracles that take place when the inspired words of scripture are shared by people in whom God's spirit dwells. When familiar words that have become a very part of our being are read, there is an amazing lifting up of hearts:
"Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God."
"Nothing can separate us from the love of God."
"The Lord is my shepherd."
"The eternal God is our refuge."
Sayings we love and trust; sayings that have been tested on the anvil of experience; Sayings that have been inwardly digested.
Michael Ramsey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote about the process whereby God's words are digested inwardly and become our staple diet, the food and drink of life:
"If we come closer to the inner heart of Bible reading we are not just stuffing our minds with information; we are letting God feed us through His word, and this means letting the scriptures speak to imagination, conscience, feeling, and will, as well as to the mind.
"As we read, and read slowly, we pause and let the truth of God come home to us. Our imagination is moved to wonder, our conscience is pricked to penitence, our feelings are moved to love, our will is stirred to resolve, and our mind to whatever understanding we can muster. In that way we quietly let the passage of scripture come home to us, mould us, and be our food and drink".
We could make a good start by thinking about an Advent message:
"Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
W.W.