VERBUM DOMINI

The Tablet Blog

Bible-study Catholics and contemplative evangelicals?

Posted by Abigail Frymann, 18 November 2010, 9:00

Evangelicals are engaging in contemplative prayer; the Pope's told Catholics to read their Bibles more. What's going on?

Last week the Vatican published Pope Benedict's summary of the synod of bishops on the word of God, entitled Verbum Domini. In the document, or apostolic exhortation, the Pope speaks of "a new season of greater love for Sacred Scripture"; he talks of the scripture nurturing believers, being central to church life and key to maturing people's faith. And he says people desperately need to be able to read the Bible in their mother tongue, so translators should be praised and encouraged and where appropriate collaborate with the various Bible Societies. (The UK Bible Society, for their part, put out a statement on Monday welcoming the Pope's document.) And we now have more Bible translations in a modern English than ever before.

In wanting Catholics to rediscover "the centrality of God's word in the life of the Church" Benedict comes across not as a closet Protestant so much as a theologian pope passionately wanting to share with his flock what he has discovered, in a distinctly Catholic way. He stresses that believers should be trained to read Scripture in relation to Tradition and guards against the individual putting too much store by a personal revelation, which he said needed "ecclesiastical approval" to be of use. His exhortation is dotted with references to Catholic saints and at one point to reading scripture alone and "gaining an indulgence either for oneself or for the faithful departed". He echoes the Catechism, which says that the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist together form a single act of worship.

But in this document, we see an approach to devotion that resonates with non-Catholics: a central path between the evangelicals' Pauline emphasis on decisive conversion and evangelistic zeal, and the Catholic love for saints, liturgy and mystery. He wants believers to have an intelligent and close relationship with the Bible - a partnership more easily extolled in theory than in practice.

In sections that the whole catholic (with a small c) Church would benefit from hearing, the Pope warns against fundamentalist readings of scripture and revelations to individuals that have not been tested by church leaders and may lead the God-seeking worshipper away from Christ. That could get a "hear, hear" from the faithful of any denomination, as much as this line: "Generic and abstract homilies which obscure the directness of God's word should be avoided, as well as useless digressions which risk drawing greater attention to the preacher than to the heart of the Gospel message. The faithful should be able to perceive clearly that the preacher has a compelling desire to present Christ." As John the Baptist said, "I must decrease; He must increase."

Meanwhile on the other side of the ecumenical fence, some evangelicals brought up on a black and white reading of the Bible and promises of "certainty" are experiencing disillusionment as years go by and lives remain unhealed and questions unanswered. Scriptures have become over-familiar, painful if unfulfilled; dry where once they gleamed with life. So to fill the gap believers are turning to Catholic authors such as Fr Gerard Hughes SJ and Fr Henri Nouwen. The Chicago-based megachurch Willow Creek offers a different, more meditative approach to Bible reading - the traditionally Catholic discipline of lectio divina - for its members; its South Africa branch offers daily online lectio slots. Over in Seattle, the Mars Hill church (membership 10,000+), founded by the popular young preacher Rob Bell, devotes a section of its website to "spiritual practices" such as lectio, Ignatian spiritual exercises and praying the daily office.

What's going on? Verbum Domini is the latest in a wave of encouragements over the last 50 years that have invited Catholics to read their Bibles, with very positive results. Meanwhile Protestant Churches around the world are using the Catholic Lectionary. The Pope's not about to resign and neither are the megachurches about to request an ordinariate. The two traditions are exploring each other's treasure chest. At worst, they could exchange barely a word as they do so; at best we could see the best of both worlds - Catholic and evangelical - powerfully combined if the two Churches don't forget dialogue and love. Didn't St Paul (even if he's not every Christian's cup of tea) once talk about the church being a body, in which every part was crucial?

Abigail Frymann is The Tablet's Online Editor.