Extra! Extra!

Read All About It!

Exploring Scripture

(Part II)

By Michael Theisen

Purpose

Participants will continue to develop a familiarity with significant books and stories of the Bible as well as explore the contextual approach to reading and understanding Scripture and how it differs from a literal view.(This is part two of a two-part session.)

Sessions at a Glance

Part 1:(This session may be found in the Fall 2006 season)

7:00 p.m.Welcome and Opening Activity: Bible Characters

7:20 p.m.Open and Shut

7:40 p.m.The Bible: Easy as Reading the Newspaper

Extend the Session: Bible Tabs (add 20 minutes)

8:00 p.m.Bible Book Relay

8:20 p.m.Faith Sharing with Lectio Divina

8:30 p.m.Good Night!

Part 2:

7:00 p.m.Welcome and Review of Part 1

7:10 p.m.Name That Book!

7:30 p.m.Greatest Stories in Scripture: Scripture Statues

7:45/50 p.m.Optional Break

7:50/55p.m.Newspaper Activity(contextual vs. literal)

8:15p.m.Faith Sharing with Lectio Divina

8:30 p.m.Good Night!

Materials Needed

•Six sets of comics and six sets of front page headlines from newspapers

•Newsprint and markers

•Six candy prizes(Optional; if used, get something which can be shared with others such as Skittles or M&Ms)

•Bibles, one for every person (preferably the same translationand ones that contain introductions to each biblical section and each book—The Catholic Youth Bible is a good option; available from Saint Mary’s Press,

•Pen/pencils for each person

•Resource 1, Name that Book!, six copies

Prepare in Advance

1. Cut the Bible verses found on the LEFT hand column of Resource 2, Scripture Statues, into small strips and place them in a basket. Keep the right hand column as a reference for the Scripture Statues activity.

2. Re-hang in chronological order horizontally along the wall the six sectional signs reviewed in Part I:

  • Pentateuch
  • Historical Books
  • Wisdom and Poetry
  • Prophetic Books
  • Gospel and Acts
  • Letters and Revelation

3. Familiarize yourself with the brief set of teaching notes that are reviewed in the newspaper section of this session.

Session Outline

Welcome and Review(10 minutes)

Step 1: Welcome the participants as they arrive and introduce yourself. Then begin reviewing what happened in the previous session (Part I) using the following process:

At our last gathering, we started to become familiar with the books of the Bible, the six major divisions and some of the major characters found in it. Think back to that session and recall one thing you learned either about a Bible character or a book or section of the Bible. In just a minute you’ll be asked to share something you recall from that session out loud so be ready!

Step 2:Tightly ball up a page from one of the newspapers you have on hand and say:

Whoever this object is tossed to has to introduce themselves (if the group does not know everyone) and say one thing they learned or know about the Bible. When done, toss the object to someone who has not yet introduced themselves. We’ll repeat this process until all have had a turn.

Note to Leader: If someone cannot come up with anything, ask them what character‘s name they had placed on their back from the last session and if they remember something about that person. If not, invite the group to share something they know about that character. If someone was not present at the last session, have them name a story or character they remember from Scripture.

Name That Book!(25 minutes)

Step 1:Ask everyone to get back into the 6 small groups they were in from the first session that were based on the six sections of the Bible (point to the signs hanging on the wall). If people were not present, divide them evenly among the six groups. Distribute a pen and one copy of Handout 1, Name That Book! to each group and a Bible to each participant. If only three groups were formed in the first session, have each group divide in half so 6 groups are created and each is assigned one of the sections of the Bible.

Step 2: Ask everyone to turn to the section introduction for the Pentateuch (right before the book of Genesis). Say:

Most Bibles contain an introduction to each section of the Bible as well as each book of the Bible (ask them to turn the page(s) to find the intro to the book of Genesis). Unfortunately, these introductions are often overlooked, yet they are very helpful for reading Scripture because they can tell us what was going on at the time that the book or section was written as well as major stories, people, and themes that can be found there.

Step 3:Ask each group to find the introduction to their assigned section. Say:

Each group will read through their section introduction for an indication of a central or key book of the Bible that is found within that section. Once you have determined this important book, use the introduction to that book to secretly complete the “Name That Book!” handout. Do not let other groups know the book the group is working on as they will need to guess this in the next part of the activity.

Step 4: As the groups are working, distribute three blank pieces of 8x11 paper and a marker to each group (for step 5). As you go from group to group, offer them help in finding one of the key books in their assigned section and in completing their handouts. Some hints are offered below:

  • Pentateuch—Genesis or Exodus
  • Historical Books—Judges, Samuel, Kings
  • Wisdom and Poetry—Psalms or Proverbs
  • Prophetic Books—Isaiah, Jeremiah or Ezekiel
  • Gospel and Acts—Any of gospels
  • Letters and Revelation—Romans, Corinthians or Ephesians

Step 5: Invite groups forward one at a time, beginning with the Pentateuch and concluding with Letters and Revelation. Prior to the first group reading its handout, ask the rest of the participants to remain quiet until the entire handout is read. Then each group gets one minute to look through that section of the Bible and write the name of the book they think the group is speaking about on an 8x11 sheet of paper (groups should use both sides of their paper during this step). After one minute, ask each group to hold up their signs to see how many got it correct. Ask the group why it chose this particular book. Then invite the next group forward.

Optional Prize Program: Award a point for each correct answer and offer a small bag of candy to the winning group(s).

Greatest Stories in Scripture: Scripture Statues(20 minutes)

Step 1: Divide the large group into teams of three people. Place the Scripture statueslips of paper that you prepared from Resource 1in a basket and ask one person from each team to draw out a slip of paper but not to tell anyone outside of their team what is on it.

Step 2: Explain the process:

Each passage on a slip of paper outlines a significant story from Scripture. Your team has 5 minutes to look up its passage and create a still statue that best represents that story and that involves each personon the team in some way. The statue must not move once it strikes its “pose.”Your “pose” should be done so that the rest of the group will be able to guess the story that the statue illustrates.

Step 3: One at a time, invite each team to strike its pose as the participants try to guess what story it illustrates. If the group gets stuck, invite the statue to offer hints in this order:

  1. The book the story comes from.
  2. One major character in the story and which person in the statue is portraying that person.
  3. Some action that is taking place in the story.

Step 4: Once the story is guessed, have the team “tell the story” to the group (not to read it but summarize it), what book it is found in and why they chose that particular pose. Then call up the next team.

Break (optional)

If you take a brief break, this is a good time to place the six newspaper headings and comic sections by each of the areas the six groups use.

Understanding Scripture: It’s All About Context(20 minutes)

Step 1:Distribute a front page section and a page of comics to each of the six small groups. Say:

For this next part of the session, you will be using the newspaper to help you understand how to read and interpret the Bible from a contextualist viewpoint, which is the approach that Catholics and many other Christians use in reading and understanding Scripture.

Step 2:

In your group, you will have a couple of minutes to look over your comic page and to decide on the one comic strip that your group thinks is the funniest one on the page.

Allow a few minutes for the groups to decide on the funniest comic strip. Then invite one small group at a time to share their “funniest” comic strip with the large group, along with the illustrations that accompany it. Then ask the group to explain why they thought it was the funniest on the page. Repeat this for each of the groups.

Step 3:

Now, imagine that it is the year 4006, 2000 years in the future, and a group of historic comic hunters have discovered the comic strip that you just shared. What would these future comic hunters need to know or understand about our culture and country today in order to laugh at that comic like you just did?

Spend one minute making a list of what is needed to understand the humor of the comic based on today’s culture, current events, and beliefs.

Step 4:After a minute or two, invite two or three of the groups to volunteer to share their list with the large group and invite others to add anything else to the list that wasn’t named. Once a few of the comic understandings have been shared, explain that this is exactly what Bible scholars due with Scripture!

Step 5: Use the following talking points to highlight how Catholics approach the bible from a contextual understanding:

  • Most books found in Scripture were first told in oral form, without the benefit of it being written down and read. The exception was the epistles or letters.
  • After some time had passed, one or more people were inspired to put the stories into writing, but this may have been 10 or 100 years after the event had taken place.
  • Each author was writing to a particular group of people in a particular time for a particular purpose, which is why we sometimes get several different accounts of the same thing, like two different accounts of the story of creation in Genesis (chapters 1 and 2) or different variations on the life of Jesus from the four gospels.
  • That is why it’s important to know the context the book or story or psalm was written in by asking ourselves, What do we need to know in order to “get” this story (or parable or psalm)?
  • Some Christians choose to read the Bible literally as if it means exactly what it says. But since the Bible wasn’t written as a history book, a literal interpretation can lead to misinterpreting Scripture and/or applying it to present day situations that it was not meant to address.
  • This is why Catholics and many other Christian denominations read and interpret the Bible from a particular context, which means we must understand who wrote it, when, and why. This is why those book introductions you used earlier are so important.

Step 5:Invite someone to read a headline from one of the front page sections of the paper (or hold one up that you selected ahead of time). Ask the group:

• How might this story be written if it appeared in another part of the world?

• Or, how might it change if you were writing this for a group of 10 year olds? A group of only women? For someone from a communist country? Or someonewho was waking up from a coma after 20 years?

The fact is, that while the central “truth” of the story remains, the details involving how the story is told, and who or what is highlighted will change based on the audience and the current events they are experiencing.

Whether Jesus spoke the beatitudes at the Sermon on the Mount (as in Matthew 5) or as part of the Sermon on the Plain (as in Luke 6), doesn’t change the truth of the words, but it does matter to the audience who it was directed at. Matthew’s gospel was written for a Jewish audience who saw mountains as a sign of closeness with God, so Matthew wanted to portray Jesus on a mountain to show that he was the Son of God.

Luke’s gospel was written to Gentiles (non-Jews) who knew nothing of the symbolism for mountains. Luke wanted his audience to understand that Jesus came for all people, not just the Jews, so he places Jesus preaching on level ground as a sign of being one with them, not separated from them. Different approaches to the same story.

Step 6:

Reading and understanding Scripture from a contextualist view is not the easiest; it requires knowledge and openness to learning new things, but it should not stop us from reading and praying with Scripture on a regular basis. Indeed, one does not need to know everything about Scripture before they start to read it (or we would never start!).

Step 7: Encourage the participants to begin reading Scripture on a regular basis, perhaps starting with Mark’s gospel (which is the shortest) or Luke (which is the most inclusive).

A helpful process in beginning to read Scripture on a regular basis is reading one chapter and then reflecting on the question, “What is God asking of me through this reading?” Another option is to place yourself into the story as an observeror one of the characters and reflect on what you would do, say or react.

The important thing is to not to be afraid to read Scripture; it is a rich and lasting source of strength for our faith journey.

Lectio Divina (15 minutes)

Gather

Prayer Leader: Explain the Lectio Divina process in these or similar words:

This prayer experience is based on an ancient Catholic prayer style developed by early century monastics called lectio divinaor “divine reading.”Lectio divina invites us to open ours minds and hearts to scripture, resting in it as we contemplate God’s will for us. The lectio divina process uses a formula of reading a Scripture passage three separate times. After each reading, the listener is asked to go deeper with the words from Scripture, reflecting in a different manner each time on the meaning the Scripture passage has for the listener.

We will be using an adapted lectio divina process that uses the following steps:

  • First Reading—reflect on one word that speaks to you from the reading
  • Second Reading—reflect on one phrase that speaks to you from the reading.
  • Third Reading—reflect on what God is saying to you based on this reading.

Listen and Respond

Prayer Leader:

In the last session on Scripture, we listened to Paul’s first letter to a young Christian named Timothy. This time we will take a few verses from Paul’s second letter to Timothy, whom Paul is trying to encourage through his own example. As you listen, think about what God might be trying to say to you today through the reading. When the reading is done, each of you will share with the group a word that struck you.

Invite a participant to proclaim 2Timothy 3:14-17 slowly and prayerfully to the group while the others follow along in their Bibles.When done, invite each person to share the one word (and only one word) that spoke to them, without any explanation.

After sharing the one word, say:

The reading will be proclaimed a second time and that this time as they listen to it, pay attention for the phrase or sentence that God is trying to speak to you today about the Scripture passage. The phrase or sentencedoes not have to contain the word that youjust shared.

Invite a young person to proclaim 2Timothy 3:14-17slowly and prayerfully to the group asking them to listen for a phrase that God is trying to speak to them today. When the reading is complete, invite the participants to speak the phrase that spoke to them, without elaborating on its meaning.

Listen to the reading one last time. This time, open yourselves up to how God is asking each of youto apply this reading to your lives today.

When the reading is finished, pause for a moment of reflection before inviting the group to reflect on what God is saying to them.

Go Forth

Once all have shared, invite the group to join hands for the following closing prayer.

Prayer Leader:

Word of God,

You speak to and through us every moment.