Do you ever wonder if you’re really hearing what the Bible is actually saying?

Lately, I’ve been wrestling with how to hear the text for what it is. How do we recover some sense of novelty or curiosity or even shock at words that have become familiar ? So familiar that we put snippets of them on stickers for our laptops, t-shirts, and kitchen magnets? 

This summer we’re preaching through the Sermon on the Mount. It’s a classic text for our ongoing formation as those who desire to live as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6). The military, economic, and religious contexts of Jesus’ time share some uneasy similarities with our own here today. We’ve noted how this series is really an extension of Pentecost and learning to live in response to the Spirit. But the behind-the-scenes question that we’re chasing after is “what can it look like to live faithfully as Jesus’ disciples here and now?”

I suppose that’s the “so what?” question that gets stirred up whenever we engage scripture.

Sometimes before we can answer that question, we need to slow down to make sure that we actually hear the words. Personally, I find this slowing down posture challenging, especially with sections of scripture that I’ve heard over and over again. Psalm 23, John 3:16, Matthew 28:16-20 all have a history of interpretation and application that have trained us to hear the point before it’s ever preached.

This challenge of slowing down has been front and center for me from the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. More than a question about how to preach the text, my question has been how do I, as one who claims to follow Jesus, really hear what Jesus is saying? With the kitchen magnet familiarity of the Beatitudes, how can I hear Jesus siding with people I tend to overlook? When I too frequently drink up intoxicating visions of the good life from the #Blessed fountain in my social media feeds, how can I hear Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 as good news to those who have been used up, trampled down, and kicked out to make our snapshot escapes possible?  

So this summer, I’ve been sitting with the text longer, practicing a form of lectio divina that has included a lot more silence between readings. I’m making a habit of reading versions that I’m less familiar with, like the First Nations Version. And I’ve been drafting my own takes on the text — not as a direct translation, but as a practice of naming what I am hearing in the text as I listen. 

While most of these drafts will remain unrefined in my own notes and files, the practice is helping me to listen more carefully to scripture and to wonder less comfortably about what it might look like to follow Jesus more faithfully today than I have before. 

As an example of what this practice has looked like for me, I’m sharing what came out of my slow listening to the Beatitudes. As you read my take on listening to the text, I wonder:

• Are there other practices that you’ve found helpful for getting past the familiarity of the text?
• Is there a familiar scripture text that you’ve engaged in a similar way?
• How would you put the Beatitudes into your own words?  
  

Blessed Are

Blessed are you who are spiritual beggars, 
for you will have unrestricted access to all the riches of God’s kingdom.

Blessed are you who carry the sorrows of the world in your heart, 
for you will be soothed by God’s own heart beat.

Blessed are you who are persistently humble, 
for God will trust you to steward all of God’s creation.

Blessed are you who are consumed with seeking justice, 
for God has saved a seat for you at Jesus’ Table of Shalom.

Blessed are you who lead with gentleness, 
for God’s own merciful character will welcome you home.

Blessed are you who constantly watch for God to show up, 
for you will get to see God in person.

Blessed are you who do not shy away from conflict because you are convinced God’s shalom is always possible, 
for God will tell proud-parent stories about you. 

Blessed are you who work the front lines of justice, 
for you will find delight and rest in God’s coming kingdom of peace.   

Blessed are you when you count the cost and still follow Jesus, 
for you will encounter more and more of the fullness of God’s kingdom.