WORD OF GOD In the Light of Aperuit Illis
WORD OF GOD
In
the Light of Aperuit Illis
Rt. Rev. Antonysamy Peter Abir
Bishop of Sultanpet
Introduction
Pope Francis, on 30 September 2019, issued the Apostolic
Letter, Aperuit Illis, instituting
the Sunday of the Word of God. The Pope begins his letter with the mission of
the Risen Lord to the disciples of Jesus in the words of “He opened their minds
to understand the Scriptures” (Lk 24:45).
Referring to Scriptures the Risen Lord unveiled the minds of those
disciples to understand the great mystery of the Resurrection. Through this event the Pope reminds us that
without the Scriptures the events of the mission of Jesus and of the Church in
the world remain incomprehensible. Of course, we should remember the words of
St. Peter: “No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation”
(2 Pet 1:20). Also, taking into account
of the mysterious and salvific nature of the Holy Scriptures, the Pope
encourages us to allot a special day for the Bible so that we can get imbibed
in the spirit of God’s revelation, not only for our personal life but also for
the benefit of the world at large. In
the above context of the Apostolic Exhortation we shall explore the possibility
of the ministry of the Word of God today.
Biblical Studies Yesterday
and Today
Biblical study and the reading of the Bible have seen a steady
growth in the history of the Church. In
the beginning of the Church the Christians had recourse to the original texts
of the Bible.[1]
The council of Vienna (1311-1312) encouraged to introduce the departments of
Greek and Oriental languages in the Christian universities. This gave much interest in reading the Bible
in the original languages.[2]
In the monastic context of Scripture reading, a particular interpretation
(salvation-historical interpretation) also contributed to the Biblical mission
in the medieval time. Then came the
study of the Scriptures through the Historical Critical Method supported by the
Divino Afflante Spiritu of Pope Pius
XII (1943). It presumed that the text
could be approached in an objective manner, its meaning could be brought out
unhindered by the pre-suppositions and contextual elements that belong to the
interpreter.[3] This
gave rise to Form Criticism, Rhetoric Criticism, Redaction Criticism and
Narrative analysis in the biblical research. In the modern world new methods
and approaches, such as, canonical, sociological, psychological,
psychoanalytical, contextual approaches were used to interpret the Bible; Contextual
studies, like the liberation approach, feminist approach, Dalit approach,
tribal approach and so on are prevalent in the biblical studies.
With the emergence of these approaches the original meaning of the
text is identified with the everyday life of each society, seeing its relevance
in the struggles of the people. Without forgetting the intention of the
original author, the meaning of the text is identified with the different groups
and in various situations of the people.
Thus, the Bible becomes ever relevant in all changing situations of the
world. As Augustine Mulloor notes, the
diachronic approach employed in the historical study was replaced by the
synchronic approach according to which the final form of the text was the
medium of communication.[4] Here a shift of the meaning took place. The original meaning of the text is applied
to the reader and thus the reader becomes the inevitable element of
interpretation in the process of interpretation and understanding, that is, the
understanding of the text as a historical text has given way to the
understanding of the text as a message for today, in one’s context. We can term this as a process from
historical-critical to communicative and communitarian. Bible is absolute revelation and
inexhaustible oracle, but as St. Paul says, “All scripture
is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 2:16). Of course, this is the purpose of Bible and
our recourse to the Word of God contained in the Bible. Pope Francis, in his apostolic letter,
underlines how we should meaningfully communicate the Bible to the people.
Some Questions!
No doubt, Bible has become the priority for the Church today. The great interest in the Word of God and the
zeal for prayer meetings and charismatic movements are welcome development in
the church today. People long to hear
Bible and there is a craving need for the Word and preaching the Word.
But we have to
ask the following questions:
Is the Bible part of our Christian living?
Is the passion for the Word of God properly guided?
How do we read the Bible and interpret?
Are we, priests, equally passionate about the Bible?
Does Bible affect and energize my life and ministry?
Do we prepare our homilies seriously?
Thanks to the Holy Father Benedict XXIV who announced in 6th
October 2005 that there will be the Ordinary Synod of the Bishops on: “The Word of God in the life and Mission of
the Church.” This announcement has come
in an appropriate time when the Church is celebrating the 40 years of Dei
Verbum, a small document of Vat II that gave revolutionary impact on the
biblical pastoral ministry in the Church.
And now, Pope Francis, through his apostolic letter, emphasized the
pastoral use of the Bible.
The Council of the Bible
Before going into the effect of Dei Verbum, which
has made revolution in the Biblical Apostolate in the Church, let me begin with
giving you some historical data on the prevailing trends in the Church. The
life of the Church in the first millennium was centered on Holy Scripture. The Church leaders were engaged in a
passionate dialogue with the Bible. Even
common people were called to have constant dialogue with the Word of God. St. John Chrysostom scolded a Christian for
not knowing how many letters of Paul there were.
The second millennium saw a decline in the interest and
study of the Bible. It was polemical and
thus diminished the direct recourse to Bible.
The Protestant declaration of Sola
Scritura added the faithful to isolate themselves to the direct interaction
with the Bible. Bible in the local
language was an anathema and thus caused further isolation. The separated brethren were well versed in
studying the Bible; while we, the Catholics lagged behind. During the post Tridentine period Scripture
became a proof for the teaching of the Church.
But the 20th century saw the great revolution in the
biblical apostolate. The scientific
study of the Bible was promoted through the Biblical Encyclical: Divino Afflante Spiritu of Pius XII (30th
September 1943) and the same spirit was encouraged by the encyclical Humani Generis (12th Aug
1950). All through the centuries the magisterium of the Church gave much
importance to the Bible.[5]
From the time of the publication of Dei
Verbum of Vat II (1965) there has been a great awareness in the Church to
celebrate the Word of God in Scripture with as much devotion and dedication as
she celebrates the Word of God in the Holy Eucharist. These are powerful
messages, which have continued to influence the life and spirituality of the
Catholic Church since the second Vatican Council. After Dei Verbum several documents
came to re-vitalize the Biblical apostolate in the Church.[6] Notable among these could be the document of
the Pontifical Biblical Commission: The Interpretation of the Bible in the
Church (1993) and the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI: Verbum
Domini (2010). In his exhortation
Pope Benedict XVI rightly mentioned: “I encourage pastors and the faithful to
recognize the importance of the Bible; it is also the best way to deal with
some pastoral problem, like biblical fundamentalism.”[7] Moreover this document emphasized the
formative character of the Worde of God, especially in the context of the
liturgy, in which its distinctively sacramental character comes to the fore.[8]
Scripture Enlightens Us!
Pope Francis opens his apostolic Exhortation with the
encounter of the Emmaus disciples with the Risen Lord who opened their minds to
understand the Scripture (Lk 24:45). For
this we need to have recourse to the Bible in everyday life. The Pope aptly
quotes the words of St. Jerome: “Ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of
Christ.”[9] Indeed, there was a time when it would appear
that Catholics were discouraged from reading the Bible. Indeed, to carry Bible
around was considered a Protestant thing to do. The Catholic went to church with
his/her Rosary and Missal (in the case of European context). He/ she learnt
about his/her faith through the catechism and the famous “Bible History” books.
The protestant carried the Bible and perhaps also a hymnbook to Church and to
Sunday school. On the part of the Catholic
Church this attitude of “caution” about direct access to the biblical text was
not without reason. There was a valid preoccupation about the danger of falling
into doctrinal error through a wrong interpretation of the Bible. But since Dei
Verbum, a lot has changed in this regard.
The Bible is now very much a Catholic Holy Book. The
Council itself strongly recommended that there should be open access to the
Bible for all the faithful. As a result
of this, a lot has been done to make available Catholic editions of the Bible,
whether they be translations or new editions. Besides the text of the Bible
itself, there has been an explosion of literature on Scripture at different
levels, aimed at different categories of Christ’s faithful. We all know, too, how
much the Bible has been a characteristic of the new liturgical era. In
particular, the new Lectionary has made available a wider range of readings
from the Scriptures. Beyond the Eucharistic Liturgy, Bible services and
celebrations have become the order of the day. For members of the different
forms of Catholic Charismatic Renewal the love of the Bible is often as strong
as the emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit. Nevertheless, through our Biblical
pastoral ministry copies of the Bible should be still more distributed, either
free or for an affordable price, to various categories of people, the poor, the
sick, the prisoners, the blind and so on in their own languages. In every situation of life and in every
society the Scripture will surely open our eyes how to respond meaningfully to
the problems of life. The revelation of
God will surely strengthen us even to bear witness to truth and justice in the
corrupt society of today.
Bible
in Liturgy
Pope Francis gives
much importance to the proclamation of the Word of God. It is true as he says that the Bible cannot
be just the heritage of some, much less, a collection of books for the benefit
of privileged few. So, he underlines the installation of the Lectors for an
effective proclamation of the Word of God in the Liturgy, especially in the
Sunday Liturgy which is the highlight of the proclamation of the Word of the
Lord. This will reflect the attentive
hearing of the Torah, “with tears” by the post-Exilic people of Israel in the
time of Ezra and Nehemiah (Neh 8:3). However, as the Word of God would give new
life to the people, the Levites told the people, “This day is holy to the Lord
your God; do not mourn or weep…for joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Neh
8:8-10). Hence an effective minter of
the Word of God can save the people from dispersion and division in the society
and an inspiration for their life of faith. To this effect, the Pope very aptly
emphasizes for installation and training of Lectors for the genuine
proclamation of the Word of God.
Besides this, Pope Francis is very much emphasizing for
an effective deliverance of the homily which possesses “a quasi-sacramental
character” (EG 142). The Pope mentions two
angles of the importance of the homily which is the pastoral use of the Bible
in an atmosphere of prayer and worship: i. Homily, for the priests, is the best
pastoral opportunity which should not be wasted. It will help the people to enter into the
depth of God’s revelation, a vital inspiration to go ahead in a life of
perplexity and complexity. Moreover, by sincerely preparing and efficiently
delivering a useful homily which is the breaking of the Word of God the priests
themselves are able to discover the beauty of God’s revelation and the way it
was transmitted. ii. Secondly, for most
of the faithful homily is the only opportunity to encounter the Bible and to
grasp the beauty of God’s Word in their life.
So, the preachers must speak from the heart, and not mechanical way of
speech as such.
Here the Pope is reminding us about his exhortation
given in Evangelium Gaudium (156-159)
with regard to homily. Our homilies are not sufficiently scriptural and
catechetical. Often preachers use the context of the Biblical text to moralize,
or to speak of contemporary issues in a way that fails to shed upon them the
light of God’s Word. The text of the
scripture in its original setting is not properly explained so as to make it
relevant for the present-day situation.
Many preachers are satisfied just narrating stories related to the theme.
We are not making convincing use of the Word for preaching and healing. In short, the Word is not presented by us as
“Good News” in a chaotic world, while the fundamentalists try to do it. This is because, right understanding
regarding our mission, evangelization and dialogue based on the correct
interpretation of the Bible is lacking. In this respect we need to be vigilant
against the fundamentalist approach to the Bible.
Scripture and Tradition
Dei Verbum was very
careful in the way it presents the relationship between Scripture and Tradition. This balance must be maintained with
similar care and attention. Our experience in the post-Vatican years has been
that this has not always been easy. Pope Francis again touches in this
exhortation with regard to the fact of inspiration of the Sacred Scripture and
the unity between the Scripture and Tradition. Quoting Dei Verbum
(no.12) the Pope notes that Sacred Scripture is to be read and interpreted in
the light of the Holy Spirit through whom it was written. We know that Jesus
Christ is the fullness of God’s revelation and the Holy Spirit inspired to
reveal both the written and the oral traditions; at the same time, the Holy
Spirit continues to inspire us to understand the Scripture properly.
However, we have to rely on the authentic interpretation
of the Magisterium. Also, we encounter the incarnation of the Word of God in
the person of Jesus Christ; this becomes basis for the expression of the Word
of God in human languages. This gives
rise to Traditions which is also God’s Word (Dei Verbum, no.9; Aperuit Illis, no. 11). So,
the Pope confirms that the Church’s living Tradition, which continually hands down
that Word through the centuries possesses that sacred book as “the supreme rule
of her faith” (Dei Verbum, no. 21).
The Fundamentalist approach to
the Bible leads to opposing Church’s stand with regard to Scripture and
tradition.
Biblical Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism, in general, is an effort towards
self-preservation through self-assertion.
There are four elements in a fundamentalist attitude:
a) Uncritical adherence to ancient beliefs and
practices.
b) Idealizing one
position and judging everything from that perspective.
c) Refusal to see things from another
perspective.
d)
Concern for a particular social order because power is linked with that social
order, which in its turn is helpful to maintain the status qua.
a)
There are Cultural fundamentalism
b)
Political fundamentalism
C)
Religious fundamentalism
D)
Biblical Fundamentalism goes back
to the principle of ‘sola scriptura’, ignoring the fact of the tradition
and the human efforts in which the books of the Bible were written. Out of sheer quest for security, the
fundamentalist takes the literary form of the Bible with an intense attachment to
the “Book.”[10]
They do not take into account the historical character of biblical
revelation and refuse to admit that the inspired Word of God has been expressed
in human language, under the divine inspiration by human authors possessed of limited
capacities and resources. These are those who practically demand that whatever
we do must be supported and justified by a concrete text of Scripture. In our
country, for example, the question “where is it in the Bible?” is always thrown
at us Catholics.
In our Apostolate we have to remember that we are dealing
with the Bible, not as the Book, but as the Word. The Word differs from the
book in that the former contains a personal element, while the latter deals
with ideas; the former communicates relationship, while the latter conveys
notions. The proclamation of the Word is
entirely and exclusively conditioned by the book. But the fundamental approach
prevents us from understanding the correct message of the Written Word.
There are some fundamental approaches AMONG THE CATHOLICS. Dr. Harry Vaz
mentions the following two examples in Mumbai:[11]
1) Lincoln, a young man in his twenties, frequents
charismatic prayer meetings and rallies, regularly watches the TV channel
‘Miracle net’. He ceases going to the parish church for Sunday mass. He refuses
to take part in the family devotions, preferring Bible reading instead.
Questioned by his parents he reports, “The masses are boring compared to prayer
meetings and TV Bible programs and healing programs. I feel God’s presence, and
receive more instruction and comfort though them than in our parish church or
the repetitive family rosary. I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I
am a true Christian. With the sacraments and Marian devotions, you are idolaters.”
2) Some Catholics in Mumbai, fans of the televangelist, Benny Hinn are angry
with the Archbishop for issuing a circular discouraging the faithful from
attending his rallies during a planned visit to Mumbai. After all he is a
Christian preacher, explains the Bible with such eloquence and has the power of
healing. God is with him. Where is our ecumenism? 3) A small group of devout
Catholics prefer to attend “a real Catholic mass” in Latin, which preserves the
true mystery and sacredness of the Sacrament. Five young seminarians have been
attending Tridentine masses secretly. They also hold home prayer meetings at
which rituals of driving away evil spirits and sharing of special revelations
are performed. When confronted by the seminary and diocesan authorities, three
joined the Society of Pius the Tenth. Some papal documents are quoted to
justify their decision.
How to approach the Challenges of Biblical Fundamentalism
1. Bible education for the Laity has to be taken seriously to quench
their thirst for the Word of God.
2. Priests, Religious and Laity need to be adequately trained.
3. Charismatic renewal has
created a taste for the Word among the laity, at the same time, they raise many
questions to which we the pastors have to give a satisfactory answer. We should provide experiential prayer
sessions in which the Word of God is made powerfully alive through proclamation
and witness, so that the participants grow sensitive to the living presence of
God in their life.
4. The Bible is used so much
as a text book during formation period; However, the ‘reverence’ for the book is lacking.
5. People are looking for quick solutions in the Bible, to every
modern problem that they face today. Certain movements take advantage of this
and deceive people by offering them interpretations, which are half-baked and
illusory. They inject into their life a
false certitude and confuse divine substance of the Biblical message with what
are in fact its human limitations.
Wide Access to Scripture
Pope Francis in “Aperuit Illis” very
emphatically mentions that the Bible is the book of the people. Therefore, those called to be the “ministers
of the Word” has to feel the urgent need to make it accessible to their
community (n.5). We cannot forget the
words: “The poor have the gospels preached to them”.
This is a quotation from Isaiah, which Jesus read and declared fulfilled in the
Synagogue of Nazareth. This gives us motivation to disseminate the copies of
the Bible very widely and made available in for an affordable price. Dei Verbum
stated very clearly that access to sacred scripture must be wide open to all
categories of Christ’s faithful. This strong recommendation: wide-open access of scripture to
everybody is still to be fully implemented, especially in poor countries.
Generally, Protestants are working very hard in translating
and distributing the Bibles in various local languages and editions. For example, the Bible Society of India has
the project of translating and distributing the Bible in India in 24 languages.[12] After the Central Govt. of India the BSI is
the organization that buys a large quantity of papers in the Indian and foreign
market.
Lectio Divina
The best way of the Biblical formation of the common faithful
is Lectio Divina. Dei Verbum desired the return to the patristic
tradition of reading of the Bible, that is, Lectio Divina. It is the reading of the Bible individually
or in group accompanied in prayer, where God approaches us in love and enters
into conversation with us (DV 25). No doubt Jesus himself is present in this
exercise. This tradition goes back to
the Jewish worship and to the OT and NT traditions (Neh 8:1-8; Lk 4:15-21; Acts
13: 14ff; 15:21). In the NT Mary stands
as the model for Lectio Divina; she is a listener to the Word (Lk
1:38). She accepts it in faith and is
called blessed because of her belief in the Word of God (Lk 1:45). Moreover, she kept and pondered in her heart
everything that she has heard and seen.
Though it reached the peak during the middle ages, the
Protestants took this and developed. It
is not merely a spiritual reading; but we read the text of the Bible with a
proper interpretation of the biblical passages.
Lectio, Meditatio, Contemplatio
and Oratio are the classical steps for this. The Basic Christian Communities (BCCs) which are
very popular among the Catholics can be the ground for the Lectio Divina
where the Word of God can be read, mediated, shared and prayed. The Word will touch the lives of the people,
giving meaning to their lives.
12. Conclusion
The Second
Vatican Council has been a gift of God to the world of our day. It prepared the
Church for the great upheavals that have rocked our world in recent times. Dei
Verbum is one of the main pillars of that Council. The Church of God has
seen a lot of changes and improvements. As
Dei Verbum rightly states, God our heavenly Father continues to talk to
us in our daily experience, and in the lives of those who went before us. But
above all, God speaks to us in Sacred Scripture, inspired by the Spirit for our
salvation. The Interpretation of the
Bible in the Church of the Pontifical Biblical Commission (1993) and the Verbum Domini of Pope Benedict XVI
(2010) gave much enthusiasm in the Biblical pastoral ministry in the
church. And, now, Pope Francis with his
exhortation, Aperuit Illis (2019),
has not only officially instituted, the Bible Sunday for the Universal Church,
but also motivated to an effective Biblical Pastoral ministry. This will help every Faithful, as the Pope
says at the end of his exhortation, to grow in religious and intimate
familiarity with the Sacred Scriptures.
May the Word of
God dwell in our hearts both now and forever.
+ Antonysamy Peter
Abir,
Bishop of Sultanpet
&
Chairman, CCBI Bible
Commission,
Palakkad, Kerala.
06 January 2020
[1] Cf. R. E.
Brown, “Hermeneutics,” NJBC (
Bangalore 1991) 1155.
[2] Cf. G. W.
H. Lamps (ed), The Cambridge History of
the Bible, II (Cambridge 1969), 218.
[3] Cf.
Augustine Mulloor, Bible Through Life and
Life Through Bible (Kalamassery 2009) 16.
[4] Augustine
Mulloor, Op.cit., 27.
[5] Cf. Dennis
J. Murphy, The Church and the Bible
(TPI 2001) for a very elaborate details of the various papal documents on Bible
down through the centuries.
[6] Cf. Ibid,
249-798.
[7] Cf. Pope
Benedict, Verbum Domini, 124-125.
[8] Verbum Domini, 56; Aperuit Illis, 2.
[9] Commentary on the book of Isaiah, PL 24,178.
[10] Cf. L.
Legrand, “Fundamentalism,” A. Peter Abir (ed), Biblical Apostolate and Religious Fundamentalism (Chennai 2003),
12-13, for an elaborate discussion on the stand of the fundamentalists.
[11] Rev. Dr.
Harry Vaz, “ Fundamentalism in the Catholic Church,” ibid, 108.
[12] These are impressive figures, on the scale of an immense country
whose population is nearing 980 millions inhabitants, with 15 main official languages
recognized by the Constitution and 1652 mother tongues as per the 1971 census. This
does not mean that there would be 1652 Indian languages: English, Portuguese
and even French and Chinese, among others, have been declared mother tongues by
Indian citizens. There is also a certain
vagueness regarding the categorization of languages, dialects and local
particularities within a determined language.
Thence rather substantial differences are found from author to
author. The 1961 census registered 872
Indian languages. The Linguistic Survey
of India of G. Grierson (20 volumes, 1903 – 1927) describes 723 spoken
languages. Leaving out the Tibeto-Burman
languages (but by which right?), P. Meile considers that “in reality, Indian
languages are not more than one hundred” in L. Renou – J. Filiozat, Manuel d’
Etudes Indiennes (Paris, Payot, 1947), 84.
Comments
Post a Comment