Taking the Bible Seriously, Not Literally (Marcus Borg)

August 7, 2005 (Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost)

by The Rev. Jerry Kolb

• Jonah 2:1-9
• Psalm 29
• Romans 9:1-5
• Matthew 14:22-33

(From The Lectionary Page)

I find myself in a really awkward situation with today’s scripture readings. First we read the story of Jonah – his prayer from the belly of a fish. A prayer that calls out for God’s saving grace. I must admit that I have a difficult time taking this ‘story’ literally. But that does not preclude it’s having real value for each of us. Jonah is us. Each of us. Those other prophets, so free and bold, so daunting and undaunted, so saintly and unflinching – they are larger than life. The stories about how God spoke to them, how they spoke to God, how they spoke for God: it’s as intimidating as it is inspiring. Who can equal them? Who can walk astride the earth like Isaiah? We can command and demand and reprimand with Elijah’s authority? Who can endure the heavy hand of God like Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Hosea? Those prophets are men apart!

And then there is Jonah. See him: hands plowed deep into his pant pockets, shoulders folded down in a perpetual slouch, face cast in a hardened sneer. He complains about the weather. It’s either too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry. He complains about the government. He complains about his neighbors. He complains about his church. The music is loud. The preaching is dull. The young people leave messes; they’re unruly and irreverent. The services go on and on!

Isaiah is who we want to be. Jonah is who we are. Jonah is lord of the half hearted, tribal chieftain of those who want God only on their own terms. I don’t find him unattractive: I find him all too familiar….

God calls him to rise up, go. He rises up all right: “ But Jonah set out to flee… from the presence of the Lord.” I can resonate with Jonah! While I may not ‘flee’ from God in the sense that I no longer want him present in my life, I flee from what I perceive to be God’s demands on my life! And while I may not be ‘swallowed by a big fish,’ I can find myself in deep, dark spaces wondering if God really loves me?

While this story is ‘in my opinion’ just exactly that, a story, a wonderful story that told the real life experience of an earlier generation who struggled with their God. It is very real, very truthful and is as pertinent to us today as it was when it was first told thousands of years ago. A recent example comes to mind of the Russian submariners, caught in a tangle of cables, deep in the ocean.  One can imagine they may have felt a little bit like Jonah, trapped deep under water in the belly of a metal whale.

And now for my next problem. Do you really believe that Peter walked on water? If you do, that is good; if you don’t, you have lots of company. Most biblical scholars – and I’m not talking about liberal fringe scholars but mainline scholars – think that this is just a story to demonstrate the authority of Jesus.

Here is how they explain it. Water is such a powerful force that only God can control it. God alone created the oceans and halted the flood and tamed the beasts of the sea and split the Red Sea. Therefore if Jesus could make that water walkable, he must be well connected with God. I think that this helped the first Christians to have faith in Jesus. This is one of my favorite stories whether it happened or not. You just have to love a guy who jumps in the water without thinking to reach a friend. Just as you have to admire a woman who dashes into a burning building without thinking to save her child.

And that’s the point of this story. They both did it without thinking. If Peter had weighed the chances of walking on water and the woman had calculated her chances of survival, they might not have taken the leap. But the heart has reasons that reason doesn’t know about.

They did it for love. Peter was so attracted to Jesus that he just had to get near him. The mother was so connected to her own flesh that she just had to be near her. Better to drown or be burned than to be separated from the beloved!

Of course, these are unusual circumstances. Ordinary life is lived on a much more mundane level. Most of the time, Peter was simply walking, talking, eating, fishing and resting with Jesus. Most of the time, the mother was simply talking with and feeding her child. But it was in these small, daily connections that an unbreakable bond was forged.

So it is with faith. Crisis are usually rare for most people. Dying for our faith is fortunately unlikely. It is in the routine of life that we live out our basic beliefs. When we trust a friend or sweep out behind the refrigerator (even though no one may know), or answer the same questions a dozen times or cook a special meal. All of these small decisions habituate us for the big one.

Because if we don’t strengthen our bonds with God and people in the little things, then the bonds gradually weaken. If Peter had daily doubted the ideals of Jesus, if the mother had repeatedly thought ill of her child, then neither might have spontaneously rushed toward them. Their survival instincts would have been stronger. Reason would have prevailed.

So with faith. If we do not habitually think of God, if we do not routinely talk with God, if we do not continually live in God’s presence, then the reality of God grows dim. Doubt darkens our mind; faith sinks under the waves of reason.

So we have to be ready at all times. Someday we may have to make a quick choice to walk on water or dash into a fire. And for sure, when we die, we must make the immediate choice to jump into God’s arms or drown in darkness.

In one sense, the results don’t matter. It doesn’t matter whether Peter and the mother die. Everyone dies at some point. What does matters is that he or she took the leap.

What matters is that without reason or reward, we are the kind of people who have the courage to die for another, to love someone or something like our country, more than ourselves, to believe in something greater than ourselves.

So, while I do not take these biblical stories as literal truth, I believe that they are filled with truth for each of us. As Marcus Borg would say, I take the bible seriously but not literally. It is important that we read, mark and inwardly digest all the words of scripture for our learning and for our spiritual growth! Don’t just focus on the words; reflect on what those words may say to you, in your own particular situation. That is what God wants you to hear from them.

Amen.