The Bible is a trove of great stories

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

During the last week or so there have been stories in the Gospels read at Mass that have blown my mind. They certainly set me thinking.

I acknowledge that I am no Scripture scholar or Exegesis expert but I can say over the years that I have been dipping in and out of the Bible stories, both Old and New Testament. I regret not knowing more about the Bible. 

To get one’s head around the Bible, both New and Old Testaments, it helps to know about the history of the times in which the different books have been written.

In my work as a hospital chaplain whenever I am asked to pray with a patient I read from the Psalter or the Book of Psalms. Indeed, in the parish church where I celebrate early morning Mass, I begin by reading a line or two from one of the Psalms prescribed for that day.

Just this Monday I read these lines from Psalm 41: ‘By day the Lord will send/ his loving kindness;/ by night I will sing to him,/ praise the God of my life. 

The Psalms are wonderful Jewish prayers written as poetry. Maybe more accurately said, most of them are, as some of them can sound nasty and tough. But there are always ones among the 150 to suit the particular moment or situation.

Last Monday week’s Gospel (Matthew 25: 31 - 46) was an amazing story. The gist of it was that when we serve one another we are serving God. 

It’s when we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, care for the sick, cloth the naked and support the prisoner that we are showing our real respect for God. It’s then that we are truly worshipping God.

And in Tuesday’s Gospel of this week (Matthew 23: 1 - 12) Jesus criticises the scribes and Pharisees: ‘They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others…’

Are they not incredibly radical pieces of writing? And how they apply to our present world. Imagine if we lived this? There would be no question of a billion people in the world not having enough food to eat. There would be no homeless people living on the pavements of our streets.

What has organised religion done that it has so atrophied, indeed, managed to emasculate the message of the Bible? And particularly Christian ministers of religion, how have we managed to confuse people so much that they are simply not aware of the message or the mission statement of Jesus Christ?

The stories that we read about Jesus in the New Testament could not be more radical. He could not be more on the side of the poor and marginalised. 

Jesus spends his time questioning the authority of the day and has no trouble criticising them for feathering their own nests.

And isn’t it odd that in most cases religion is used as a tool by the right-wing, ultra conservatives to protect a status quo.

I get the impression that religion is often hijacked by the right-wing.

It seems so often we miss the wood for the trees when it comes to looking at the full picture of what it means when we say we believe in God.

Once we try to ‘corner’ God for our purpose isn’t that what idolatry is?

God is love.