Slow Down and Read
“Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
"The Book of Common Prayer," p. 236
Our Dad’s Bible Study at St. Martin’s has been on quite the adventure. When we first began our study of the Book of Mark in August, the plan was to go through it in 12 weeks. How hard could it be? Mark only has 16 chapters, and is known for its concise narratives. So, naturally, we thought that would be done in no time and then move on to another study before the Christmas break.
Yet, then we started to actually read Mark, and our pace got a lot slower. By the time we got to January, we were only halfway through, and it was May before we finally finished. We often joked that we were never going to finish. It was not unusual for us to study only five verses during our Thursday morning meetings.
Once we had accepted that we were not going to rush through this book, we began to pick up things that we had never noticed. We spent time on certain words or phrases, we discussed how the different people in the story might have felt or thought. For me, it has been the best Bible study of which I have ever been a part, and most of that is because we gave ourselves permission to be slow and deliberate as we studied Holy Scripture. There was no agenda at the beginning, no test at the end – just an honest conversation shared among friends.
Why are we always in a rush? Is there time that we carve out of our day or week to slow down? Participating in a Bible study or small group can be transformational in not only fostering great relationships, but modeling a more sustainable lifestyle. The Collect above reminds us that the Bible is not something read through briskly. Rather, as we read Scripture, we are called to “read, mark, learn, and [even] inwardly digest” its sacred words. My hope is that you will make this prayer your own and will find time to be intentional about reading the Bible (and God willing) to do it with others.
