Am at a theological conference this week, attending wall to wall, morning to evening lectures. While all of the sessions so far have been about how we understand the Bible, some have dealt specifically with principles and methods of interpretation; some on Creation Care; one about contrasting statements Jesus made about forgiveness; and one on what the Gospel of John tells us about the implications of what it means for Christ to be in us, and for us to be in Him, as he is in the Father, and as the Father is in him. As I listened to that one I kept thinking that Moses wasn’t the last of us to have reason to take off his sandals in the presence of a burning bush.
One of the biggest surprises was how much I learned from what sounded at first like an overly complicated discussion of how scholars work through differences that show up in different manuscripts on which Bible translations are made. Was deeply impressed with the discipline textual scholars use in weighing even the smallest most insignificant details of the Bible.
That thought of “details” reminds me of what I heard one of the lecturers emphasize. He urged us not to forget what we know– that we deal with the big issues of life, with global concerns, and with abstract thoughts, by how we respond to the concrete, local, and small matters that are before us.
While considering the huge issues that are dividing our country, and the escalating conflict in the Middle East, I was reminded of what it means for Christ to be in us, and for us to be in him– right now,,, in what each of us are thinking, loving, and saying– wherever we are and whatever we are doing.
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