Hear it for the first time - everytime

Have you ever driven to work the same way for so long that you stop noticing the scenery along the route? The streetscape is there, but the details have disappeared. Businesses along the way may come and go but it is so familiar that you no longer notice the changes. You may even drive the familiar roads and as you approach a particular section you suddenly wonder “How did I get here? I don't remember the last 10 miles.” Sometimes it seems we are on autopilot, the scenery goes by like a blur.

That can happen with scripture too.

How many times have you heard the 23^rd Psalm? How many times have you heard the creation story?

When was the last time you really listened?

This January term I am taking a course on Speech for the Preacher and Presider. This is helping me to see how I can use my voice and my body to communicate more effectively. Interestingly, most of the people in the class were already skilled, and everyone in the class is getting better. But as I often find in seminary, there is the course material that we learn, and there are the unintentional lessons that hit us, or me, like a ton of bricks.

Susan, our professor, made a comment about the wonderful interpretation of the 23^rd Psalm that was written by Bobby McFarrin as a gift to his mother. I of course went to YouTube and found the recording.

It was as if I was hearing the 23^rd Psalm for the first time. It could have been the beautiful harmony of the a capella group. Or it could have been the feminine role of God that Bobby McFarrin used in his interpretation. Regardless, it was wonderful.

For many, God needs to be a white male that looks like Merlin the Magician, or perhaps Albus Dumbledore. I don't think that God can be type cast with such rigidity. After all, we are made in His image. So He looks like you and me. And the last time I looked around that included men and women, and people of color, and people of differing sexual orientations and the variations goes on and on...... But I am getting sidetracked, so back to my original thought.

Today in class I had the opportunity to read the poem “The Creation” by James Weldon Johnson. This creation story brought the creation story of Genesis back to life for me. It was as if I read it for the first time.

I wonder how many people, like myself, have heard scripture passages so often and done so poorly that the passage goes by like a blur? Wouldn't it be wonderful if every time you heard the same passage it was like the first time that you heard it?

Peace be with you,