Bible Study

Picture of two Bibles - one a teen Bible, obviously old and well used, and a new adult Bible.

In the fall of 2024, I registered for a 24 week bible study. I hadn't done a Bible study since grammar school, when my religion teacher, Sister Laurentia, had us read the Bible as part of our religion studies.

That grammar school Bible had been my Bible ever since. I decided I needed to get an adult Bible for class. The two bibles are pictured above. I still prefer some of the translations in my teen Bible to the translations in my new Bible. While the Bible study is giving me a deeper appreciation and understanding of scripture, it is also opening my eyes to how much any passage in the Bible can impact me so differently based on the life experiences that I have had.

Reading scripture and hearing other people's understanding of a passage has helped me see things in new ways. The theologians who construct the Bible studies have their own interpretations and insights, and I enjoy hearing and thinking about all the ways that scripture can be internalized.

I'm currently enrolled in a ten week Bible study focused on the Eucharist. Again, really deepening my understanding of so much.

Bible study has been good for me. I have met people who share my faith, and whose faith is important to them. I believe I am starting to form some friendships.

The unexpected gift from Bible study is the realization that while my understanding of scripture has deepened, and my appreciation for historical significance of may aspects of the mass has increased, the core tenant of faith, belief in the Risen Christ, doesn't depend on intellect or depth of understanding.

That belief in God, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, in the Triune God - it exists purely. Faith can be more easily shared and explained with knowledge of scripture. Evangelization can be accomplished more readily with familiarity with the Bible. Comfort from scripture can be found more quickly when you know where to look.

But faith? Faith exists in the absence of knowledge, in the absence of understanding. So many divine truths defy understanding by our finite minds. It is faith that trusts in those truths, it is faith that comforts in sorrow, and it is faith that inspires us to turn our minds and hearts towards God and His great love for us.

Faith is an enormous grace, and an enormous gift. A gift and a grace that my Bible study have made me appreciate even more.