Dear Friends,

In October, the Church has an opportunity to celebrate Bible Sunday, the day on which it gives thanks to God for the Canon of different books that make up the New and Old Testaments that He has given us to read and learn from.

Each book was written at a particular time in history. Each has its own context and literary style. The job of the Church is to continue to interpret what the Bible says for each generation, so each generation can apply it to their lives and the way they choose to live them. This task never ends and is ongoing.

Amongst the different books of the Bible, we find books of law, wisdom, history, psalms and prophecy, as well as the Gospels, epistles, and pieces of apocalyptical writing, telling us what will happen at the end of the time, when Jesus will come again to judge the world and rule over it.

All of these different books have been given to us, in the words of St. Paul to help us with “the teaching of the faith, the rebuking and correcting of error and in training to live righteous lives”. They also have the power, as the writer of the letter of the Hebrews says, to cut right through us, to” where soul and Spirit meet”. For the word of God is “alive and active and is sharper than any double edged sword”.

Scripture has the power to challenge and change us, just as it has always done. As we read it, we are able to encounter God himself, who is made real to us in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

God bless.

Andrew

God bless,