One of my favorite Bible verses is 2 Peter 3:16. This is where St. Peter refers to the letters of St. Paul, and says, “In them there are some things hard to understand.”
Thank you, Peter!
If the Rock upon whom the Church was founded, the very first pope, good ol’ St Peter, thought St. Paul’s epistles were hard to understand, then I don’t feel so bad.
Years ago, I was the leader of a Bible study class in my parish. (Don’t roll your eyes like that. I was pretty good at it. Sort of. Also, since most Catholics are quite unfamiliar with Scripture, to be a Bible study leader in a Catholic parish, you only have to stay one page ahead of the class.) Anyway, at one point, we decided to study St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. “How hard can it be?” I thought. “We hear readings from Romans at Mass a lot. This should be a piece of cake.”
I bought a study guide to help me prepare lessons and answer any questions that might arise. I thought I was all set. Well, about three or four weeks into the study, a woman tentatively raised her hand and quietly asked, “What in the world is St. Paul talking about?”
After pausing for a moment, I started to recite what I remembered reading in the study guide earlier that day. I babbled on for a few minutes, and then when I stopped, the woman said, “OK. Now what in the world are YOU talking about?”
It’s funny that she said that, because while I was babbling on, trying to remember what the study guide said, as my mouth was spewing out a word salad, the back of my brain was whispering to me, “You don’t understand this stuff at all, do you, Bill?”
I bought a study guide to help me prepare lessons and answer any questions that might arise. I thought I was all set. Well, about three or four weeks into the study, a woman tentatively raised her hand and quietly asked, “What in the world is St. Paul talking about?”
After pausing for a moment, I started to recite what I remembered reading in the study guide earlier that day. I babbled on for a few minutes, and then when I stopped, the woman said, “OK. Now what in the world are YOU talking about?”
It’s funny that she said that, because while I was babbling on, trying to remember what the study guide said, as my mouth was spewing out a word salad, the back of my brain was whispering to me, “You don’t understand this stuff at all, do you, Bill?”
I took a deep breath, then said to the entire class, “Please raise your hand if you understand what we’ve been discussing.” Not a single hand went in the air.
Then I said, “Now, please raise your hand if you think we should quit Romans right now, and start studying something simple, like Quantum Physics.” Everybody raised their hand.
The realization that St. Peter also found the letters of St. Paul rather difficult to understand, certainly helped me feel a little better when major sections of the letter to the Romans baffled me. (Also, it wasn’t just Romans. Paul’s words are kind of confusing in Ephesians, Philippians, both Corinthians, Galatians, and not to mention the family update letter he included with his Christmas cards a couple of months ago.)
This is another good reason why we as Catholics depend on the Church’s teaching Magisterium to provide the correct interpretation of the Scriptures. Let’s face it, if you gave copies of the Bible to 100 different people, they would come up with 100 different interpretations of what it means. (No, actually, they would come up with 20 different interpretations, because 80 of those people would become so confused about halfway through Leviticus that they’d walk away frustrated and mutter, “Let someone else figure this thing out.”)
Now, don’t get me wrong. The Bible is indeed the Word of God. As Catholics we revere the holy Scriptures. The Holy Spirit inspired the authors of Scripture to write down the truth about God and mankind, and about our relationships with Him and with each other. But since the various books of the Bible include the authors’ particular cultural background and writing style (and St. Paul’s writing style emphasized prodigious run-on sentences; just sayin’), the true meaning of the words are not always obvious. Therefore, we need the collective wisdom and knowledge of the bishops, in communion with the pope, to offer us the correct interpretations.
Then I said, “Now, please raise your hand if you think we should quit Romans right now, and start studying something simple, like Quantum Physics.” Everybody raised their hand.
The realization that St. Peter also found the letters of St. Paul rather difficult to understand, certainly helped me feel a little better when major sections of the letter to the Romans baffled me. (Also, it wasn’t just Romans. Paul’s words are kind of confusing in Ephesians, Philippians, both Corinthians, Galatians, and not to mention the family update letter he included with his Christmas cards a couple of months ago.)
This is another good reason why we as Catholics depend on the Church’s teaching Magisterium to provide the correct interpretation of the Scriptures. Let’s face it, if you gave copies of the Bible to 100 different people, they would come up with 100 different interpretations of what it means. (No, actually, they would come up with 20 different interpretations, because 80 of those people would become so confused about halfway through Leviticus that they’d walk away frustrated and mutter, “Let someone else figure this thing out.”)
Now, don’t get me wrong. The Bible is indeed the Word of God. As Catholics we revere the holy Scriptures. The Holy Spirit inspired the authors of Scripture to write down the truth about God and mankind, and about our relationships with Him and with each other. But since the various books of the Bible include the authors’ particular cultural background and writing style (and St. Paul’s writing style emphasized prodigious run-on sentences; just sayin’), the true meaning of the words are not always obvious. Therefore, we need the collective wisdom and knowledge of the bishops, in communion with the pope, to offer us the correct interpretations.
I’m certainly not trying to discourage anyone from reading the Bible. It is an amazing gift from God, especially the four gospels and the Book of Acts. But when you are reading, if you come across a section that is hard to understand, just remember the first pope, St. Peter, also scratched his head once in a while and said, “Huh?”
So, let’s change that old stereotype and become the generation of Catholics known for reading the Bible on a regular basis. And if you come across parts that are hard to understand, don’t worry, you’re in good company.
So, let’s change that old stereotype and become the generation of Catholics known for reading the Bible on a regular basis. And if you come across parts that are hard to understand, don’t worry, you’re in good company.
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