Visit the St. Thomas Website for more information

What do we know of this final week of Jesus’ life?  We know that Jesus created controversy throughout his ministry.  He words and actions brought him into contention with the teachers of the Law.  Things escalated to a fever pitch in the final week of his life, and Roman leaders and Jewish teachers of the Law worked to insure that Jesus would be removed forever from the public eye.

Sunday: The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

The last week of Jesus’ life began in the villages of Bethany and Bethpage – small, close villages on the slopes of Mt. Olivet, situated two miles outside of the walls of Jerusalem.  Jesus ordered his followers to procure a colt for him to ride into the city.  A king rode on a colt when he came in peace.

On the other side of the city, another parade took place as reinforcements of the Roman Legion entered the city led by a warrior mounted on a horse.  The horse was an animal of war.  Two parades – one was peaceful and one readied for war.  The horse won out momentarily, but the colt won out for eternity.

The route that the triumphant entry of Jesus, which has become known as the Palm Sunday route, is not recorded in the gospels.  Scholars believe that it probably led down from the Mt. of Olivet to the Golden Gate and into the Temple Mount, because Jewish tradition said that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem through the Golden Gate, which the Romans later bricked close so no Messiah could ever enter.

Monday: The Cleansing of the Temple Mount

The Temple compound was not a church complex.  Imagine instead something like Stanford University with porticoes connecting various beautiful buildings.  This was a religious, educational, legal, communal and governmental center.

The walls around the Temple compound were 10 stories high, and they enclosed a space large enough to hold 25 football fields.  Jews from around the world traveled here to offer sacrifice.  Because they could not carry live animals with them to sacrifice, animals were bought at the Temple.

Roman coins could not be used to purchase animals for sacrifice, because these coins bore Caesar’s face, and the Temple would not permit coins with images to be used.  Money changers stood ready to exchange currency and charge a hefty profit.

When Jesus drove out those who sold animals and overturned the tables of the money changes, he threatened the very livelihood of the Sadducees, who oversaw the Temple’s finances.  All hell broke out.

Tuesday through Thursday: Jesus Teaches in the Temple

Jesus returned each day to teach and engage his foes in theological discourse.  He publically prophesized about the destruction of the Temple.  The crowds swelled.  Temple authorities feared a riot.  Roman soldiers stood ready to act.

Thursday Evening: The Last Supper and the Arrest

Jesus dined one final time with his closest friends.  There is nothing like solidarity when your back is against the wall.  He confided in them about the danger that he was in.  He knew what was going to take place.  The Last Supper  has become known throughout history, is thought to have taken place in the Essene Quarter of Jerusalem, and in a place called the Upper Room.

After the meal, Jesus and his followers headed back to Mt. Olivet.  They stopped along the way in the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.  Gethsemane means “oil press.”  Here olives were crushed and oil was made – oil for healing, nourishment, rejuvenation and anointing.  Soon Jesus was to be crushed and poured out for the people for healing, feeding and renewing countless people across the centuries.  But first, Judas had to betray him and bring the Roman authorities to arrest him.

Thursday Evening: The Trial before the Pharisees

After his arrest, Jesus was brought back to Jerusalem to stand trial before the Sanhedrin Council – a Jewish legal body that included the chief Sadducees, Pharisees and city elders.  It is widely believed that the Sanhedrin met at the home of the High Priest Caiaphas, as they had no regular meeting place.

To execute Jesus, the Sanhedrin had to prove not simply that Jesus preached heresy against Jewish Law, but more importantly that he claimed to be the Messiah, which involved a return of the Davidic king to Israel.  This act of sedition would be punishable by death by the empire.

Friday Morning: Jesus stands alone before Pilate

The Sanhedrin then brought Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.  They demanded that Pilate execute him.  This probably took place at the military stronghold known as the Antonio Fortress, which was the seat of Roman power in Jerusalem.  The gospels differ on what happened next.

According to Mark, the first gospel to be written, Pilate listened as the Jewish chief priests accused Jesus of claiming to be the Messiah.  Pilate queried Jesus, who neither admitted nor denied the charge.

Luke tells us that once Pilate learned that Jesus was a Galilean he turned the matter over to Herod, who had jurisdiction over Galileans.  All four gospels tell us that Pilate offered the crowds a choice.  He would either free Barabbas, a known seditionist and criminal, or Jesus.  Coached by the Pharisees, the crowds demanded that Barabbas be freed and Jesus be executed.

The trial was brief.  It may have lasted only a few minutes.  Jesus was dispatched to death.  So, too, were to other criminals.  The three were taken outside the city for execution.

Friday: The Last Hours of Jesus

Flogging was unmerciful as are all forms of torture.  The Romans used leather straps with chards of glass and bone tied to the ends in order to rip flesh and muscle off the body of the accused.   Crucifixion was an exceeding slow and excruciating way to die reserved by the Romans for the lowest criminals.

The death penalty was administered publically in order to serve as a deterrent and to remind passersby that the empire would crush anyone who violated its laws.  Jesus and the two others were escorted outside the walls of Jerusalem, carrying the beams of wood upon which they would be crucified to the hill known as Golgotha, which means the skull.  The rest of the story would change history forever.

Stay strong in the Word this week and find your way to a church each day as we share one final Lenten discipline together and walk with our Lord along the path from life to death and onto eternal life.

With every blessing for a rich Holy Week,

One of the great things that I love about The Bible Challenge is carrying the Bible with me wherever I go and reading it on airplanes and trains, in hotel rooms, on vacation, while visiting family or traveling.

Scripture comes wonderfully alive in different places.  I particularly love reading the Bible and praying the Daily Office (Morning or Evening Prayer) while flying in an airplane and seated by a window.  There is something about looking out over the clouds and sensing eternity as we read God’s Word.

Yesterday, I flew from Philadelphia to Chicago and was praying a little more fervently than usual as they de-iced the plane before take-off and snow plows whisked past the plane clearing the runway.  They washed down the wings of the plane and coated them with green antifreeze).  It made me a nervous.  Minutes after we had taken off, the pilot informed us that the airport had just closed.

We flew over the Grand Canyon (unfortunately, you could only see it from the right side of the airplane) as we headed to San Diego, where I am speaking at a conference of Episcopal clergy, staff and lay leaders about The Bible Challenge.   What I saw from my side of the airplane was spectacular.

As we flew, I read Scripture and was particularly struck by Psalm 46, which I hope to memorize.  What a powerful passage of the Bible this is.  Martin Luther set these words to music as he created his famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” converting a popular German beer drinking song into a hymns for the ages.  How I would love to see our Church musicians today do something similar!

I am slightly behind The Bible Challenge’s read the Bible in a Year reading pace for the Psalms and Luke’s Gospel, but I am ahead in reading the Old Testament and am reading Deuteronomy and loving it, after finding portions of Numbers dry and uninspiring (parts of Numbers lend themselves to fast-forwarding).

If you have gotten bogged down in one or more books of the Bible as you do The Bible Challenge, fast forward and move to the next book and give yourself a fresh start.  The goal is not to say that you read every single word, but never made it past Leviticus.  The goal is to read the entire Bible at least once, and then, if so inspired, to continue to read the Bible daily for the rest of your life.

This morning, I woke up early as the sun was rising and read chapters 5-8 of the Book of Deuteronomy along with Psalm 47 and Luke 3.  Deuteronomy is full of wise teaching, which I highlighted.  I particularly like Deut. 6:5-8.  I too often hesitate to share my faith with our children, because as a priest, I have sometimes feared having my children feel pushed into religion), but with my youngest daughter inquiring more about God and religion, this verse struck me.  I will write down on an index card and take with me all day to memorize.  I have a few free hours to see San Diego before our program starts, and I shall carry God’s Word with me as I see this beautiful city.

You shall love the Lord your God with

all your heart, and with all your soul,

and with all your might.  Keep these

words that I am commanding you

today in your heart.  Recite them to

your children and talk about them

when you are away, when you lie down

and when you rise.  Bind them as a sign

on your hand, fix them as an emblem

on your forehead, and write them on

the doorposts of your house and on

your gates (Deut. 6:5-9)

Carry the Word with you wherever you go and may it fill you with peace and joy.

With Lenten blessings,

- By the Rev. Marek P. Zabriskie, Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Fort Washington, PA, Founder of the Center for Biblical Studies and The Bible Challenge

The Book of Common Prayer (pages 264-265) offers this invitation to every worshipper as the penitential season of Lent begins:

“Dear People of God:
The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting.”
The person leading the service then extends this special invitation:

“I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.”
Hence, Lent is an exceptional time to go further in the spiritual journey by committing to a daily spiritual practice that will strengthen your relationship with God, transform your life and help you to be more fully the person that God intends of you to be.

It is there a wonderful time to begin The Bible Challenge either as an individual or with members of your church or your diocese. Each year, entire parishes and dioceses throughout the Anglican Communion have started participating in the Read the Bible in a Year Lent-to-Lent Bible Challenge with the assistance of our simple reading plan.

The Center for Biblical Studies has designed this simple reading schedule to help those who commit as indi­viduals or as members of a church, a church school or a diocese to read successfully through the entire Bible in a year’s time.

The CBS intentionally focuses on reading the entire Bible, reading the books of the Bible in sequence and ensuring that a psalm and a portion of the New Testament are read each day in order to pro­vide strong spiritual daily content to sustain readers working through the entire Bible.

We encourage readers to read portions of the Bible Monday through Satur­day and assume that on Sunday they will be in church hearing the Scriptures read aloud. The Bible is best understood in the context of a faith community and by persons who are committed to following the teach­ings of Jesus and obeying the Word of God in their daily life.

Merely hearing the Scriptures read aloud on Sunday, however, is not enough to know and to experience the living, life-transforming Word of God. We encourage you always to put yourself in the presence of God before you begin reading the Scriptures. Read with a desire to understand and follow the teachings of Scripture so that your life might be trans­formed by the Holy Spirit working within you as the Word of God is revealed to your heart, mind and soul. We wish you every blessing in your faithful daily Bible reading.

We offer this prayer written by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1549 The Book of Common Prayer as you begin your spiritual journey and The Bible Challenge:

“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.”

For more help in reading the Bible each day, we invite you to visit the Center for Biblical Studies website at: http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org

February

13 – (Ash Wednesday) – Genesis 1-3; Psalm 1; Matthew 1

14 – Genesis 4-6; Psalm 2; Matthew 2

15 – Genesis 7-9; Psalm 3; Matthew 3

16 – Genesis 10-12; Psalm 4; Matthew 4

17 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

18 – Genesis 13-15; Psalm 5; Matthew 5

19 – Genesis 16-18; Psalm 6; Matthew 6

20 – Genesis 19-21; Psalm 7; Matthew 7

21 – Genesis 22-24; Psalm 8; Matthew 8

22 – Genesis 25-27; Psalm 9; Matthew 9

23 – Genesis 28-30; Psalm 10; Matthew 10

24 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

25 – Genesis 31-33; Psalm 11; Matthew 11

26 – Genesis 34-36; Psalm 12; Matthew 12

27 – Genesis 37-39; Psalm 13; Matthew 13

28 – Genesis 40-42; Psalm 14; Matthew 14

March

1 – Genesis 43-45; Psalm 15; Matthew 15

2 – Genesis 46-48; Psalm 16; Matthew 16

3 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

4 – Genesis 49-50; Psalm 17; Matthew 17

5 – Exodus 1-3; Psalm 18:1-19; Matthew 18

6 – Exodus 4-6; Psalm 18:20-50; Matthew 19

7 – Exodus 7-9; Psalm 19; Matthew 20

8 – Exodus 10-12; Psalm 20; Matthew 21

9 – Exodus 13-15; Psalm 21; Matthew 22

10 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

11 – Exodus 16-18; Psalm 22; Matthew 23

12 – Exodus 19-21; Psalm 23; Matthew 24

13 – Exodus 22-24, Psalm 24, Matthew 25

14 – Exodus 25-27, Psalm 25, Matthew 26

15 – Exodus 28-30, Psalm 26, Matthew 27

16 – Exodus 31-33, Psalm 27, Matthew 28

17 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

18 – Exodus 34-36, Psalm 28, Mark 1

19 – Exodus 37-39, Psalm 29, Mark 2

20 – Exodus 40, Psalm 30, Mark 3

21 – Leviticus 1-3, Psalm 31, Mark 4-5

22 – Leviticus 4-6, Psalm 32, Mark 6-7

23 – Leviticus 7-9, Psalm 33, Mark 7-8

24 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

25 – Leviticus 10-12, Psalm 34, Mark 9-10

26 – Leviticus 13-15, Psalm 35, Mark 11

27 – Leviticus 16-18, Psalm 36, Mark 12

28 – Leviticus 19-21, Psalm 37:1-17, Mark 13

29 – Leviticus 22-24, Psalm 37:18-42, Mark 14

30 – Leviticus 25-27, Psalm 38, Mark 15

31 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

April

1 – Catch up, Psalm 39, Mark 16

2 – Numbers 1-3, Psalm 40, Romans 1

3 – Numbers 4-5, Psalm 41, Romans 2

4 – Numbers 6-8, Psalm 42, Romans 3

5 – Numbers 9-11, Psalm 43, Romans 4

6 – Numbers 12-14, Psalm 44, Romans 5

7 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

8 – Numbers 15-17, Psalm 45, Romans 6

9 – Numbers 18-20, Psalm 46, Romans 7

10 – Numbers 21-23, Psalm 47, Romans 8

11 – Numbers 24-26, Psalm 48, Romans 9

12 – Numbers 27-29, Psalm 49, Romans 10

13 – Numbers 30-32, Psalm 50, Romans 11

14 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

15 – Numbers 33-35, Psalm 51, Romans 12

16 – Numbers 36, Psalm 52, Romans 13

17 – Deuteronomy 1-3, Psalm 53, Romans 14

18 – Deuteronomy 4-6, Psalm 54, Romans 15-16

19 – Deuteronomy 7-9, Psalm 55, Luke 1

20 – Deuteronomy 10-12, Psalm 56, Luke 2

21 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

22 – Deuteronomy 13-15, Psalm 57, Luke 3

23 – Deuteronomy 16-18, Psalm 58, Luke 4

24 – Deuteronomy 19-21, Psalm 59, Luke 5

25 – Deuteronomy 22-24, Psalm 60, Luke 6

26 – Deuteronomy 25-27, Psalm 61, Luke 7

27 – Deuteronomy 28-30, Psalm 62, Luke 8

28 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

29 – Deuteronomy 31-33, Psalm 63, Luke 9

30 – Deuteronomy 34, Psalm 64, Luke 10

May

1 – Joshua 1-3, Psalm 65, Luke 11

2 – Joshua 4-6, Psalm 66, Luke 12

3 – Joshua 7-9, Psalm 67, Luke 13

4 – Joshua 10-12, Psalm 68, Luke 14

5 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

6 – Joshua 13-15, Psalm 69, Luke 15

7 – Joshua 16-18, Psalm 70, Luke 16

8 – Joshua 19-21, Psalm 71, Luke 17

9 – Joshua 22-24, Psalm 72, Luke 18

10 – Judges 1-3, Psalm 73, Luke 19

11 – Judges 4-6, Psalm 74, Luke 20

12 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

13 – Judges 7-9, Psalm 75, Luke 21

14 – Judges 10-12, Psalm 76, Luke 22

15 – Judges 13-15, Psalm 77, Luke 23

16 – Judges 16-18, Psalm 78:1-39, Luke 24

17 – Judges 19-21, Psalm 78:40-72, Acts 1

18 – Ruth 1-4, Psalm 79, Acts 2

19 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

20 – 1 Samuel 1-3, Psalm 80, Acts 3

21 – 1 Samuel 4-6, Psalm 81, Acts 4

22 – 1 Samuel 7-9, Psalm 82, Acts 5

23 – 1 Samuel 10-12, Psalm 83, Acts 6

24 – 1 Samuel 13-15, Psalm 84, Acts 7

25 – 1 Samuel 16-18, Psalm 85, Acts 8

26 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

27 – 1 Samuel 19-21, Psalm 86, Acts 9

28 – 1 Samuel 22-24, Psalm 87, Acts 10

29 – 1 Samuel 25-27, Psalm 88, Acts 11

30 – 1 Samuel 28-30, Psalm 89:1-18, Acts 12

31 – 1 Samuel 31, Psalm 89:19-52, Acts 13

June

1 – 2 Samuel 1-3, Psalm 90, Acts 14

2 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

3 – 2 Samuel 4-6, Psalm 91, Acts 15

4 – 2 Samuel 7-9, Psalm 92, Acts 16

5 – 2 Samuel 10-12, Psalm 93, Acts 17

6 – 2 Samuel 13-15, Psalm 94, Acts 18

7 – 2 Samuel 16-18, Psalm 95, Acts 19

8 – 2 Samuel 19-21, Psalm 96, Acts 20

9 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

10 – 2 Samuel 22-24, Psalm 97, Acts 21

11 – 1 Kings 1-3, Psalm 98, Acts 22

12 – 1 Kings 4-6, Psalm 99, Acts 23

13 – 1 Kings 7-9, Psalm 100, Acts 24

14 – 1 Kings 10-12, Psalm 101, Acts 25

15 – 1 Kings 13-15, Psalm 102, Acts 26

16 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

17 – 1 Kings 16-18, Psalm 103, Acts 27

18 – 1 Kings 19-21, Psalm 104, Acts 28

19 – 1 Kings 22, Psalm 105, 1 Corinthians 1

20 – 2 Kings 1-3, Psalm 106, 1 Corinthians 2

21 – 2 Kings 4-6, Psalm 107, 1 Corinthians 3

22 – 2 Kings 7-9, Psalm 108, 1 Corinthians 4

23 -   Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

24 – 2 Kings 10-12, Psalm 109, 1 Corinthians 5

25- 2 Kings 13-15, Psalm 110, 1 Corinthians 6

26 – 2 Kings 16-18, Psalm 111, 1 Corinthians 7

27 – 2 Kings 19-21, Psalm 112, 1 Corinthians 8

28 – 2 Kings 22-24, Psalm 113, 1 Corinthians 9

29 – 2 Kings 25, Psalm 114, 1 Corinthians 10

30 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

July

1 – 1 Chronicles 1-3, Psalm 115, 1 Corinthians 11

2 – 1 Chronicles 4-6, Psalm 116, 1 Corinthians 12

3 – 1 Chronicles 7-9, Psalm 117, 1 Corinthians 13

4 – 1 Chronicles 10-12, Psalm 118, 1 Corinthians 14

5 – 1 Chronic5les 13-15, Psalm 119:1-32, 1 Corinthians 15

6 – 1 Chronicles 16-18, Psalm 119:33-72, 1 Corinthians 16

7 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

8 – 1 Chronicles 19-21, Psalm 119:73-112, 2 Corinthians 1

9 – 1 Chronicles 22-24, Psalm 119:113-144, 2 Corinthians 2

10 – 1 Chronicles 25-27, Psalm 119:145-176, 2 Corinthians 3

11 – 1 Chronicles 28-29, Psalm 120, 2 Corinthians 4

12 – 2 Chronicles 1-3, Psalm 121, 2 Corinthians 5

13 – 2 Chronicles 4-6, Psalm 122, 2 Corinthians 6

14 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

15 – 2 Chronicles 7-9, Psalm 123, 2 Corinthians 7

16 – 2 Chronicles 10-12, Psalm 124, 2 Corinthians 8

17 – 2 Chronicles 13-16, Psalm 125, 2 Corinthians 9

18 – 2 Chronicles 17-19, Psalm 126, 2 Corinthians 10

19 – 2 Chronicles 20-22, Psalm 127, 2 Corinthians 11

20 – 2 Chronicles 23-25, Psalm 128, 2 Corinthians 12

21 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

22 – 2 Chronicles 26-28, Psalm 129, 2 Corinthians 13

23 – 2 Chronicles 29-31, Psalm 130, Galatians 1

24 – 2 Chronicles 32-34, Psalm 131, Galatians 2

25 – 2 Chronicles 35-36, Psalm 132, Galatians 3

26 – Ezra 1-3, Psalm 133, Galatians 4

27 – Ezra 4-6, Psalm 134, Galatians 5

28 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

29 – Ezra 7-9, Psalm 135, Galatians 6

30 – Ezra 10, Psalm 136, Ephesians 1

31 – Nehemiah 1-3, Psalm 137, Ephesians 2

August

1 – Nehemiah 4-6, Psalm 138, Ephesians 3

2 – Nehemiah 7-9, Psalm 139, Ephesians 4

3 – Nehemiah 10-12, Psalm 140, Ephesians 5

4 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

5 – Nehemiah 13, Psalm 141, Ephesians 6

6 – Esther 1-3, Psalm 142, Philippians 1

7 – Esther 4-6, Psalm 143, Philippians 2

8 – Esther 7-8, Psalm 144, Philippians 3

9 – Esther 9-10, Psalm 145, Philippians 4

10 – Job 1-3, Psalm 146, Colossians 1

11 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

12 – Job 4-6, Psalm 147, Colossians 2

13 – Job 7-9, Psalm 148, Colossians 3

14 – Job 10-12, Psalm 149, Colossians 4

15 – Job 13-15, Psalm 150, 1 Thessalonians 1

16 – Job 16-18, Psalm 1, 1 Thessalonians 2

17 – Job 19-21, Psalm 2, 1 Thessalonians 3

18 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

19 – Job 22-24, Psalm 3, 1 Thessalonians 4

20 – Job 25-27, Psalm 4, 1 Thessalonians 5

21 – Job 28-30, Psalm 5, 2 Thessalonians 1

22 – Job 31-33, Psalm 6, 2 Thessalonians 2

23 – Job 34-36, Psalm 7, 2 Thessalonians 3

24 – Job 37-39, Psalm 8, 1 Timothy 1

25 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

26 – Job 40-42, Psalm 9, 1 Timothy 2

27 – Proverbs 1-3, Psalm 10, 1 Timothy 3

28 – Proverbs 4-6, Psalm 11, 1 Timothy 4

29 – Proverbs 7-9, Psalm 12, 1 Timothy 5

30 – Proverbs 10-12, Psalm 13, 1 Timothy 6

31 – Proverbs 13-15, Psalm 14, 2 Timothy 1

September

1 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

2 – Proverbs 16-19, Psalm 15, 2 Timothy 2

3 – Proverbs 20-22, Psalm 16, 2 Timothy 3

4 – Proverbs 23-25, Psalm 17, 2 Timothy 4

5 – Proverbs 26-28, Psalm 18:1-19, Titus 1

6 – Proverbs 29-31, Psalm 18:20-50, Titus 2

7 – Ecclesiastes 1-3, Psalm 19, Titus 3

8 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

9 – Ecclesiastes 4-6, Psalm 20, Philemon

10 – Ecclesiastes 7-9, Psalm 21, John 1

11 – Ecclesiastes 10-12, Psalm 22, John2

12 – Song of Songs 1-3, Psalm 23, John 3

13 – Song of Songs 4-6, Psalm 24, John 4

14 – Song of Songs 7-8, Psalm 25, John 5

15 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

16 – Isaiah 1-3, Psalm 26, John 6

17 – Isaiah 4-6, Psalm 27, John 7

18 – Isaiah 7-9, Psalm 28, John 8

19 – Isaiah 10-12, Psalm 29, John 9

20 – Isaiah 13-15, Psalm 30, John 10

21 – Isaiah 16-18, Psalm 31, John 11

22 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

23 – Isaiah 19-21, Psalm 32, John 12

24 – Isaiah 22-24, Psalm 33, John 13

25 – Isaiah 25-27, Psalm 34, John 14

26 – Isaiah 28-30, Psalm 35, John 15

27 – Isaiah 31-33, Psalm 36, John 16

28 – Isaiah 34-36, Psalm 37:1-17, John 17

29 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

30 – Isaiah 37-39, Psalm 37:18-42, John 18

October

1 – Isaiah 40-42, Psalm 38, John 19

2 – Isaiah 43-45, Psalm 39, John 20

3 – Isaiah 46-48, Psalm 40, John 21

4 – Isaiah 49-51, Psalm 41, Hebrews 1

5 – Isaiah 52-54, Psalm 42, Hebrews 2

6- Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

7 – Isaiah 55-57, Psalm 43, Hebrews 3

8 – Isaiah 58-60, Psalm 44, Hebrews 4

9 – Isaiah 61-63, Psalm 45, Hebrews 5

10 – Isaiah 64-66, Psalm 46, Hebrews 6

11 – Jeremiah 1-3, Psalm 47, Hebrews 7

12 – Jeremiah 4-6, Psalm 48, Hebrews 8

13 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

14 – Jeremiah 7-9, Psalm 49, Hebrews 9

15 – Jeremiah 10-12, Psalm 50, Hebrews 10

16 – Jeremiah 13-15, Psalm 51, Hebrews 11

17 – Jeremiah 16-18, Psalm 52, Hebrews 12

18 – Jeremiah 19-21, Psalm 53, Hebrews 13

19 – Jeremiah 22-24, Psalm 54, James 1

20 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

21 – Jeremiah 25-27, Psalm 55, James 2

22 – Jeremiah 28-30, Psalm 56, James 3

23 – Jeremiah 31-33, Psalm 57, James 4

24 – Jeremiah 34-35, Psalm 58, James 5

25 – Jeremiah 36-38, Psalm 59, 1 Peter 1

26 – Jeremiah 39-41, Psalm 60, 1 Peter 2

27 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

28 – Jeremiah 42-43, Psalm 61, 1 Peter 3

29 – Jeremiah 44-45, Psalm 62, 1 Peter 4

30 – Jeremiah 46-47, Psalm 63, 1 Peter 5

31 – Jeremiah 48-49, Psalm 64, 2 Peter 1

November

1 – Jeremiah 50-51, Psalm 65, 2 Peter 2

2 – Jeremiah 52, Psalm 66, 2 Peter 3

3 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

4 – Lamentations 1-2, Psalm 67, 1 John 1

5 – Lamentations 3-4, Psalm 68, 1 John 2

6 – Lamentations 5, Psalm 69, 1 John 3

7 – Ezekiel 1-2, Psalm 70, 1 John 4

8 – Ezekiel 3-4, Psalm 71, 1 John 5

9 – Ezekiel 5-6, Psalm 72, 2 John

10 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

11 – Ezekiel 7-8, Psalm 73, 3 John

12 – Ezekiel 9-10, Psalm 74, Jude

13 – Ezekiel 11-12, Psalm 75, Ephesians 1

14 – Ezekiel 13-14, Psalm 76, Ephesians 2

15 – Ezekiel 15-16, Psalm 77, Ephesians 3

16 – Ezekiel 17-18, Psalm 78:1-39, Ephesians 4

17 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

18 – Ezekiel 19-20, Psalm 78:40-72, Ephesians 5

19 – Ezekiel 21-22, Psalm 79, Ephesians 6

20 – Ezekiel 23-24, Psalm 80, Revelation 1

21 – Ezekiel 25-26, Psalm 81, Revelation 2

22 – Ezekiel 27-28, Psalm 82, Revelation 3

23 – Ezekiel 29-30, Psalm 83, Revelation 4

24 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

25 – Ezekiel 31-32, Psalm 84, Revelation 5

26 – Ezekiel 33-34, Psalm 85, Revelation 6

27 – Ezekiel 35-36, Psalm 86, Revelation 7

28 – Ezekiel 37-38, Psalm 87, Revelation 8

29 – Ezekiel 39-40, Psalm 88, Revelation 9

30 – Ezekiel 41-42, Psalm 89:1-18, Revelation 10

December

1 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

2 – Ezekiel 43-44, Psalm 89:19-52, Revelation 11

3 – Ezekiel 45-46, Psalm 90, Revelation 12

4 – Ezekiel 47-48, Psalm 91, Revelation 13

5 – Daniel 1-2, Psalm 92, Revelation 14

6 – Daniel 3-4, Psalm 93, Revelation 15

7 – Daniel 5-6, Psalm 94, Revelation 16

8 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

9 – Daniel 7-8, Psalm 95, Revelation 17

10 – Daniel 9-10, Psalm 96, Revelation 18

11 – Daniel 11-12, Psalm 97, Revelation 19

12 – Hosea 1-2, Psalm 98, Revelation 20

13 – Hosea 3-4, Psalm 99, Revelation 21

14 – Hosea 5-6, Psalm 100, Revelation 22

15 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

16 – Hosea 7-8, Psalm 101, Luke 1

17 – Hosea 9-10, Psalm 102, Luke 2

18 – Hosea 11-12, Psalm 103, Luke 3

19 – Hosea 13-14, Psalm 104, Luke 4

20 – Joel 1-2, Psalm 105, Luke 5

21 – Joel 3, Psalm 106, Luke 6

22 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

23 – Amos 1, Psalm 107, Luke 7

24 – Amos 2, Psalm 108, Luke 8

25 – Amos 3, Psalm 109, Luke 9

26 – Amos 4, Psalm 110, Luke 10

27 – Amos 5, Psalm 111, Luke 11

28 – Amos 6, Psalm 112, Luke 12

29 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

30 – Amos 7, Psalm 113, Luke 13

31 – Amos 8, Psalm 114, Luke 14

January

1 – Amos 9, Psalm 115, Luke 15

2 – Obadiah, Psalm 116, Luke 16

3 – Jonah 1, Psalm 117, Luke 17

4 – Jonah 2, Psalm 118, Luke 18

5 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

6 – Jonah 3, Psalm 119:1-32, Luke 19

7 – Jonah 4, Psalm 119:33-72, Luke 20

8 – Micah 1-2, Psalm 119:73-112, Luke 21

9 – Micah 3-4, Psalm 119:113-144, Luke 22

10 – Micah 5-6, Psalm 119:145-176, Luke 23

11 – Micah 7, Psalm 120, Luke 24

12 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

13 – Nahum 1-3, Psalm 121-122, John 1

14 – Habbakuk 1-3, Psalm 123-124, John 2

15 – Zephaniah 1-3, Haggai 1-2, Psalm 125-6, John 3

16 – Haggai 1-2, Psalm 127-128, John 4

17 – Zechariah 1-2, Psalm 129-130, John 5

18 – Zechariah 3-4, Psalm 131-132, John 6

19 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

20 -Zechariah 5, Psalm 133-134, John 7

21 -Zechariah 6, Psalm 135-136, John 8

22 -Zechariah 7, Psalm 137-138, John 9

23 -Zechariah 8, Psalm 139, John 10

24 – Zechariah 9, Psalm 140, John 11

25 -Zechariah 10, Psalm 141, John 12

26 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

27 -Zechariah 11, Psalm 142, John 13

28 – Zechariah 12, Psalm 143, John 14

29 -Zechariah 13, Psalm 144, John 15

30 -Zechariah 14, Psalm 145, John 16

31 -Malachi 1, Psalm 146, John 17

February

1 -Malachi 2, Psalm 147, John 18

2- Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

3 -Malachi 3, Psalm 148, John 19

4 -Malachi 4, Psalm 149-150, John 20-21
Congratulations!

You have finished and have accomplished something important and memorable and spiritually rewarding. I hope that this has transformed your life in a special way. God will surely honor the significant effort that you have made!

Rather than rest upon your laurels, we strongly encourage you to begin reading the Bible again. This time, you may wish to read more slowly and deliberately, but ensure that you read a portion of the Scriptures each day. You may try reading the Bible in a different translation this time so that when you read passages, which are now more familiar to you, you will see slight differences that will reveal deeper meanings and more truths to you. As always, we encourage you to put yourself in the presence of God before you read any portion of the Bible.

If you chose to re-read the Bible and let daily Bible reading become a life-long spiritual practice for you, we recommend that you read the article on “Lectio Divina” on the Center for Biblical Studies website to help you discover a slow, meditative way of reading that Scriptures that can be life-transforming. Once again, congratulations on achieving a major spiritual goal in your life. You can build greatly on the important spiritual work that you have done.

If The Bible Challenge has been a good spiritual experience for you and has touched your heart and nourished your soul, we invite you to make a contribution to the Center for Biblical Studies to help us promote The Bible Chal­lenge globally so that others may benefit from the daily reading of God’s Word. Your gift can be made out to “St. Thomas Episco­pal Church” with a memo for “The CBS” and sent to St. Thomas Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 247, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, 19034.

With prayers and gratitude for what you have accomplished and for prayers for your continued reading of God’s Word each day and hope that God’s light and love will always transform and shine through you,

Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania and Founder of The Bible Challenge and the Center for Biblical Studies

The first 21 days are critical to developing a new habit. Learning how to read the Bible is like establishing a new habit. Hence, it is important to get off to a strong start for the first three weeks. Studies reveal that those who read the Bible for 21 days in a row have an 80% chance of developing a life-long spiritual discipline of daily Bible reading.

Here are some quick thoughts to help you get started:

• Choose the same time and place each day to read the Bible, if possible.
• Read the same amount of Scripture each day, if possible.
• Set yourself in the presence of God and ask God to open the Word to you before you begin your reading.
• If possible, read Scripture first thing in the morning. This makes a statement to God that God’s Word comes first in your life, before the newspaper, work and every task ahead of you. It will also inspire and spiritually fuel you for the remainder of the day and impact your actions and reactions, what you say and left unsaid because you began your day grounded in God’s Word.
• Build an accountability mechanism. Tell a few friends, church and family members about your commitment and ask them to help hold you accountable to reach your goal.
• Do a little reading each day. If you cannot read as much as our Reading Plans call for, don’t fret. The key is to read a little bit of God’s Word every day.
• If you miss a day, get right back to it.  Don’t let a week or two pass without being grounded in God’s Word.

Reading the Bible isn’t easy. The Old Testament especially has many challenging sections, where you will find:

• Unbelievable facts that counter your scientific knowledge
• Stories of violence that leave your shaking your head
• Boring dietary codes and genealogies – skim them and move on
• Repetitive stories about the same good or bad kings

Each week, we will send you a short message like this to help guide you in your daily reading. Most importantly, we urge you to join or create a support group, if you can.

To help those in our parish and who live or work nearby succeed in The Bible Challenge, we have created support groups that will gather each week for six weeks with a facilitator. The facilitator will encourage discussion, answer questions and lead the group in praying for the church at the close of the meeting.
We call these groups The Good Book Club. We will offer these groups starting on January 7 and ending on February 22, unless a strong group is formed and wishes to continue meeting. We encourage you to sign up or merely stop in and attend one of these groups.

To sign up, please call the church office at: 215-233-3970 and speak to the receptionist or dial extension 121 and speak to Anita Burke. You can also email Anita at: aburke@stthomaswhitemarsh.org

Most people quit their New Year’s resolutions after three days because they have no one to hold them accountable for carrying through on their resolution. These support groups are an important way for us to help you succeed in fulfilling your spiritual goal for 2013.
With every blessing,

CBS – Good Book Club Schedule for 2013

Mondays

10:00a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – The Rev. Marek Zabriskie in the Rittenhouse Room, Church Hill Hall

Tuesdays

7:00 – 8:00 a.m. – The Rev. Marek Zabriskie – Rittenhouse Room, Church Hill Hall

7 – 8 p.m. – Arlene Johnston – The Moyer Library in Church Hill Hall

Wednesdays

7:00 – 8:00 a.m. Tommy Thompson – The Rittenhouse Room in Church Hill Hall

7:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Tommy Thompson – The Moyer Library in Church Hill Hall

Thursdays

Noon – 1:00 p.m. – The Rev. Hillary West – The Rittenhouse Room, Church Hill Hall

4:00 – 5:00 p.m. – Mikie Fernley – The Rittenhouse Room, Church Hill Hall

7:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Stacy Smith – in the church chapel

Fridays

11 a.m. – noon – The Rev. Hillary West in the Rittenhouse Room, Church Hill Hall

Dear Friends:

I took my Bible with me on the airplane yesterday and read quite a bit.  I started the Book of Revelation and finished it this morning.  There is something incredibly wonderful about reading an entire book of the Bible in one sitting or over a few days.

The way that we read small portions of the Bible in church each week works well for worship, but it greatly reduces comprehension.  It is like hearing an orchestra play eight measures of a great symphony every Sunday.  After 52 weeks, we would not be able to comprehend the themes and beauty of the symphony.

The Book of Revelation is full of incredible imagery.  It is perhaps the most metaphorical and mystical book of the Bible, and it offers a great vision of heaven.  The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city – the City ofGod.

Tomorrow, many of us will begin The Bible Challenge 2013, and I hope that you will join us.  This year I plan to write down on an index card an inspirational verse from the Bible each day and carry it with me throughout the day and commit it to memory.

I will also read our new book The Bible Challenge, which features meditations, questions and prayers from 103 archbishops, bishops, cathedral and seminary deans, biblical scholars, theologians and priests from around the world.

The Bible Challenge book is printed by Forward Movement and is available through their website at: http://www.forwardmovement.org/Products/2114/the-bible-challenge-read-the-bible-in-a-year.aspx or at Amazon or Barnes and Nobles.
If The Bible Challenge has been a blessing to you or to your church, please help us to share the blessing by supporting the Center for Biblical Studies so that we can share this ministry freely with others.  Please take a moment and make a contribution to: St. Thomas Episcopal Church with a memo for “The CBS” and send it to: St. Thomas Church, P.O. Box 247, Fort Washington, PA, 19034.  We need and welcome your support!

We hope that you will continue to read the Bible each day.  We also encourage you to invite friends and family members to join us in The Bible Challenge 2013.  Encourage them to visit our website at: www.thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org and post information about The Bible Challenge on your Facebook page or your church’s website.
With every blessing for a Happy New Year,

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, who constantly gives the hope of new life to those who follow him, we are delighted to let you know that the Center for Biblical Studies has produced four new resources to help you.

These may be helpful to you as an individual or to your entire parish or diocese.  Those of you who are leading a parish or diocese in The Bible Challenge are free to use and adapt our materials to the needs of your congregation or diocese as you deem fit.

Our new publications include:

• The Parent/Child Bible Challenge (offers age appropriate resources and suggestions to help parents and grandparents read a story Bible or children’s Bible each day with their children)
• The Teen Bible Challenge (offers suggestions and resources to help teenagers participate in The Bible Challenge individually or in groups)
• Read the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs in a Year reading plan (this helps those who wish to read part of the Bible without tackling the entire Bible in a year.  We recommend that teenagers start with this or by reading the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts)
• Next Steps in The Bible Challenge (offers lots of exciting ways to build upon our learning and love of the Bible after we have completed The Bible Challenge individually or as a parish or diocese)

These resources are located and available for downloading as PDFs from the Home Page of our website at: www.thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org  Feel free to share them with your friends and family as well.

The goal of the Center for Biblical Studies is to help individuals develop a life-long spiritual discipline of daily Bible reading that will transform, inspire and guide them through each day of their life.  Our goal is to create strong Christian disciples and strengthen churches and dioceses by creating Christians who find joy, wisdom and inspiration through following a daily practice of Bible reading and prayer.

If The Bible Challenge has been an important spiritual influence in your life or in the life of your church or diocese this year, we invite you to give back so that we can continue to share our ministry freely across the United States and around the world.  You can support the Center for Biblical Studies by writing a check to “St. Thomas Episcopal Church” with a memo for “The CBS” and mailing it to:

St. Thomas Episcopal Church

P.O. Box 247

Fort Washington, PA 19034

As we prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth, may our time of quiet Bible reading each day create a manger in our heart, soul and mind that allows the Word made flesh to be born again in us each day.

With every blessing,

Sometimes evil lurks on the horizon, and we can see it slowly advancing.  At other times it leaps out of nowhere, as it did on Friday when a psychologically troubled young man killed 26 people – most of them children.  It was the second worst school massacre in United States history.

“Our hearts are broken today,” said President Obama.  He spoke for all of us.  Innocent children had their lives cut short.

In response to a reporter’s question on Friday about whether this was an appropriate time to speak about gun control, President Obama said, “Today is not the day.”  I admire many aspects of our President, but I think that he was wrong.

We keep postponing the conversation about gun control.  To speak about it now is not to politicize the shootings or to take advantage of them for any reason, it is rather to say we must stop this madness.  We must take a stand, and do it now.

How long can we allow our elected officials to be more focused on re-election then protection, on securing campaign funds than securing our children’s safety, and on kowtowing to the National Rifle Association instead of doing the right thing?

Friday’s attack comes after a year of fatal shootings in movie theaters, shopping malls, street corners and city sidewalks across America.  Since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 there have been over 40 school massacres in our country.

Have we grown so accustomed to reading and watching violence that we expect it to be part of our daily life and even school life?  Our country has a proclivity for weapons and violence.  We feast on violent films, police shows and violent video games, and we wonder why psychologically disturbed Americans mimic what they see and what we know to be wrong.

The problem is complex.  It involves an entertainment industry that grows rich on providing violent content.  We are wrong to purchase, and we are wrong to watch it.

The problem involves how we fail to care for the fragile and psychologically disturbed, to identify people who could be dangerous and reach out to help them.

I believe that we must also develop stronger gun laws.  The killer in Newtown fired over 100 rounds of ammunition in a few minutes.  No one should be allowed access to guns that can do such damage.

Our The Founding Fathers never dreamed of assault rifles and the kind of firepower we now have when they called for the right to bear arms in the Constitution.  American politicians are silent and impotent on this issue.  They are in the pocket of the NRA.  Do we lack the spine to stand up and speak out?

There are over 300 million guns in the United States.  Each year 100,000 Americans are shot by a bullet, and 30,000 of them die. We grieve that more than 50,000 Americans died in Vietnam, but every two years more Americans die from gun violence.  It is senseless.  Our nation is pouring billions of dollars into protecting our citizenry from terrorism, while our own citizens terrorize us with guns.

Thirty years ago, I worked as a police reporter.  I had an office at the newspaper and one at the police department.  On my office wall at the police department was a poster with a red, white and blue revolver.  It read, “Last year, handguns killed six persons in England, two in Scotland, five in France, 11 in Germany, 14 in Australia, and 23,431 in the United States.  God bless the United States.”

One day, I attended a gun show as a reporter and slid my reporters pad into my pocket.  “Looking for an automatic weapon, buddy,” asked one gun dealer.  “This is a semi-automatic weapon, but a guy over there sells a kit that can make this into go automatic.”  Another dealer tried to sell me a device that would allow me to launch a grenade from a rifle.  No citizen should have these things – not one.

Gun dealers are a danger to our society.  The members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church and I hope to create an organization called, “Churches against Gun Violence.”  We would be interested and willing to help us do this.  We welcome your ideas.

What if we could start a movement with churches to promote gun control and tens of thousands of churches across America took a stand?  We could make a difference.  We started The Bible Challenge in 2011 and now have over 2,000 churches in 30 countries are participating.  Could we do something similar for gun control?

Waging war on guns is an action that we must do together.  The NRA is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in America.  I believe that the NRA is a force for evil.  Jesus knew that evil is often masked as something good.  When the NRA lobbied to stop the government from banning “cop killer bullets,” I knew that they were immoral.

Jesus must be shocked by our inability to speak and act.  Who wants to join a church that doesn’t fight for things that are right?  The prophet Zephaniah writes, “I will remove disaster from you…. I will deal with your oppressors…. I will save the lame, and gather the outcast….”  These words ring hallow unless we work for safety and call our politicians to accountability, demand that they reach across the aisle and do what is best for our nation.

For too long the Church has majored in minor issues while being silent on the big topics of our day – topics like the proliferation of weapons, the possibility of nuclear destruction, human trafficking, HIV/AIDS that kills 30,000,000 people each year and the gross inequality of wages where an athlete, entertainer or executive can earn $25,000,000 a year while a worker cannot feed his family.  Is there no accountability, shame, guilt or moral compass left in America?  Can we take a stand and make a difference?

If the crowds were to ask Jesus today, “What should we do?”  Jesus would say, “If you have a politician who won’t support gun control, vote him out of office.  If you have church leaders who fail to do what is right, don’t follow them.  If you know someone who thinks that individuals should be able to own assault weapons, tell them they are crazy and immoral.  If you know someone who is mentally unstable and dangerous, warn others and insure that they get help.”

Jesus would never pack a weapon.  He condemned violence at all times.  Jesus chastised a follower lifting a sword to strike an oppressor and immediately healed the injured party.  Jesus died rather than fight his oppressors.  That is our ultimate role model.
Will you stand up and make the world safer?  Only if you say, “Yes,” and mean it in your heart and do something about it, can we utter the words of the prophet Isaiah and trust in them when he says, “Come, comfort, ye my people” and know that comfort will come to us and to our nation.

Please consider joining us in the fight against gun violence.

With prayers of peace for our nation,

The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection.  And we must not select just a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others.  Nothing less than the whole Bible can make a whole Christian. – A.W. Tozier

The more you read your Bible, and the more you meditate upon it, the more you will be astonished with it. – C.H. Spurgeon

Dear Friends:

These are two of my favorite quotes about the Bible.  I think about them often.  Every day is a blessed day when we begin with prayer and reading God’s Word.  It fuels our spiritual fire and prepares us to handle everything that comes our way.

This year, I am embarking on my third consecutive reading of the entire Bible, and I hope that you will join me in reading the entire Bible or a portion of it in 2013.  My goal this year will be to note and memorize 365 great Bible quotes and share them later with you.

St. Thomas is the first church in the United States to offer Next Steps in The Bible Challenge, The Teen Bible Challenge and The Parent/Child Bible Challenge.  We have enclosed this wonderful packet of information detailing lots of ways in which you can participate in The Bible Challenge.  Studies reveal that nothing strengthens a Christian more than regular Bible reading and being active in a great church.  You can read the Bible every year and constantly find new things that speak to your heart.

Our Winter/Spring Sunday Forum series will focus on the Bible.  We will learn how to read it, tackle difficult passages, find great wisdom and apply it to our daily lives.  On Sunday, January 6, parishioner Richard Lyntton will preach about how listening to the Bible on audio.com changed his life and made 2012 a year of great blessing for his family and him.  Participants in The Bible Challenge, DOCC, EfM and Bible study groups will share in the Forum that day on how reading the Bible has inspired and transformed their lives.  We will also hold our Big Bible Sale that morning, offering a huge variety of Bibles in different translations that are appropriate for children, teenagers and adults.  You can buy one for yourself or for a friend or relative as a gift.

Beginning on January 7, we will hold gatherings each week on different days and at different times to help Bible Challenge participants reflect on what they are reading in the Bible.  The times and locations of these gatherings will soon be announced.

Remember always that God will honor the time that you devote to being in the Word. If you decide to join the Bible Challenge, please e-mail me at mzabriskie@stthomaswhitemarsh.org so we know that you are participating, and we can support you.

With every blessing,

Those of you who have been reading through the Bible will not be surprised to learn that the number one struggle that our participants encounter is making sense of the violence in the Old Testament.  What kind of God would command us to be violent?  One participant recently wrote:

I have been doing the Bible Challenge since March after seeing a friend doing it while on a trip we were taking.  I have found the Old Testament to be very depressing due to the constant killings of this person or that.  I wonder how I can believe in a faith where God encourages so much killing.  I have prayed about my understanding and growth in my faith, but it has not been the most positive experience.  As I watched the glowing video about how The Bible Challenge has affected so many lives, I thought that I must be doing something wrong.  I will look forward to hearing from you.

Here is my reply:

Encountering violence in the Bible is the biggest stumbling block for people reading through the entire Bible for the first time.  Indeed, the Old Testament can read like the holocaust chronicles at times.  Almost all violent passages are never read in church.

As a result, we asked Professor Walter Brueggemann to write two articles for our website.  If you visit: www.thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org and look for “Articles” under “Resources” on our Home Page, scroll to the bottom and you will find two brief articles by Dr. Brueggemann.  The article entitled “God in Recovery” addresses violence in Scripture.
I believe that God never encourages violence.  Hence, I do not take biblical passages literally when we read that God told Moses, Joshua or David to enter the village and kill all of the Edomites and the women and children, and God was pleased when they did.

Old Testament scholar Pete Enns reminds us that as Christians we read the Bible knowing how the story will end.  It ends in God’s redeeming love of creation embodied in Jesus, who conquered death and reconciled us forever with God.  The God who raised Jesus from the dead is faithful to his Covenant and never exterminates humans or encourages others to do the same.

That is why in The Bible Challenge we always read portions of the New Testament while also reading from the Old Testament in order to recall at all times the Christian understanding of a God who is forgiving, merciful and just.  Our concept of God evolved over many centuries as the authors of the Bible matured in their faith development.  God remained the same, but our understanding of God evolved.

Bible passages where God commands violence are in fact stories of human beings attributing their own violent actions to a peaceful and loving God.  God not only did not command slaughters to occur, but God was horrified when they took place.  God’s heart is always the first to break when any human suffers.

Archeologists have also determined that much of the violence depicted in the Book of Judges, for example, is a distorted and exaggerated rereading of history by the Jews.  Instead of rapidly conquering vast areas of Palestine through violence, scholars now believe that the Israelites slowly assimilated, traded, exchanged traditions and intermarried with those living in Palestine.

The prophets, however, expressed outrage that the Israelites adapted foreign rituals and abandoned their worship of Yahweh.  The prophets maintained that this incited God to punish the Israelites and caused the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and deport the Israelites to Babylon, where they lived as captives.

One of the challenges of not reading some biblical passages literally is that it can undermine the authority of Scripture.  What portions of the Bible do we take seriously and what portions do we not take seriously?  Here, we must depend upon scholars, instructors, church leaders and the Holy Spirit to help us make these determinations.

Most theologians agree that we cannot take all passages of Scripture with equal seriousness.  Hence, some portions of Scripture are more relevant and binding on our lives as Christians than other passages.  Violent biblical passages, in my estimation, are the least binding of all Scriptures found in the Bible and are the first portions of Scripture that we ought to question.
The violent passages of Scripture which are never read in church remind us that the world is full of evil, and they mirror what we read each day in the newspaper.  They force us to ask, “Where is God in the midst of suffering?”  “How can I make a difference in a world full of victims?”  These are important questions for Christians and others to ask.

In their Introduction to the Bible Robert Kugler and Patrick Hartin note, “It often surprises students to discover the significant role geography played in shaping the Old Testament.  That the people of Israel found themselves at the crossroads of competing imperial powers (Egypt to the south, the great powers of Mesopotamia to the east, and finally Alexander and his successors from the northwest) assured them a long history of conflict and struggle, the results of which show up abundantly in the biblical record.”

Professor Enns notes, “Based on where the Israelites lived and who lived around them, it is actually surprising that there wasn’t a lot more violence.”  The Israelites were actually more peaceful than many of their neighbors.  Many Bible Challenge participants note similarities between the current strife in the Middle East and stories that they are reading in the Old Testament.  Truly, violence is a constant.

Recently, I read in the Book of Ezekiel: The Lord God proclaims: Edom acted with excessive force against the house of Judah.  The Judeans were guilty, but Edom’s vengeance was excessive.  So the Lord God now proclaims: I’ll overpower Edom, eliminate all living creatures, and make it a wasteland from Teman to Dedan.  They will fall by the sword.  I will execute vengeance in Edom through my people Israel’s power…the Lord God proclaims: I will overpower the Philistines, eliminate the Cherethites, and obliterate all who are left along the coastline.  I will act against them with great vengeance and with wrathful punishments.  While I execute my vengeance against them, they will know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 25: 12-14, 16-17)

This sounds like a playground bully claiming that he will beat up anyone who upsets him.  A rabbi has told me that for this very reason he would not encourage his congregants to read all of the Hebrew Scriptures, because many passages portray a God who is vengeful and merciless.

This is where having a mentor or a support group is extremely helpful when reading the entire Bible.  Archbishop Thomas Cranmer noted that the Bible is “full of low valleys and plain ways,” where it is “easy for every man….to walk in” as well as the “high hills and mountains,” where few can climb.  It is in these more difficult areas of the Bible that it is best for us to have the help from others and the guidance from the Holy Spirit to illuminate the most challenging portions of the Bible.

I believe that a careful reading of these texts can help us to realize that violence is never the answer.  The human spirit has the potential for great evil, unless it is transformed by God’s grace.  The great challenge for those reading the entire Bible is to read the Bible’s most difficult passages and still discover a message of hope, reminding us that sin matters and God demands obedience and righteousness.

Those who transgress against God will be punished.  Likewise, those who strive to keep God’s Covenant will still stumble, but will stumble into the arms of a merciful and forgiving God.
With blessing as you engage God’s Word,