The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, otherwise knows as UNESCO, defines literacy as: "the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society." And you thought literacy just meant being able to read! The concept of literacy is appropriate for us this morning as we focus on the third mark of discipleship – Bible reading. In the Puritan culture of England and Scotland, and later in this country literacy was defined as the ability to function in the religious realm – one must be able to read and study the Bible, and one must be able to study. In a paper called "Roots of and Routes to a Concept of Literacy," Woodrow Trathen and Michael Dale remind us of the Puritan notion of literacy, speaking of literacy as grace: "Puritans believed that reading the Bible was inextricably tied to salvation. As a result, children were forced to learn to read and write as soon as possible, to facilitate their salvation in the advent of premature death. The notion of literacy as grace entails the idea that becoming literate means becoming a better person." (Roots of and Routes to a Concept of "Literacy": Four Papers from A Problems Court Session: What is a Concept of Literacy? Woodrow Trathen, Michael Dale) Put in a different way, literacy was looked upon in the same way as baptism was in the Roman Catholic and Church of England traditions.

I suspect if Biblical literacy was to be equated in this day and age to salvation, many of us would be in dire straits. You can still find a Bible in most homes in the US; even those not professing Christianity. However, possession of a Bible in the home does not lead to Biblical literacy. Statistics gathered from both Gallup and Barna polls point to this truth. Gallup poll research found that: only half of adults interviewed in the US could name any of the four gospels of the New Testament, only 37% could name all four; only 42% of adults were able to name as many as five of the Ten Commandments correctly; 70% were able to name the town where Jesus was born, but only 42% could identify him as the person who delivered the Sermon on the Mount. (George Gallup, Jr., The Role of the Bible in American Society. Princeton: The Princeton Religion Research Center, 1990) My suspicion is that the numbers are even lower today, as this poll was taken several years ago. Information gathered from a more recent Barna poll found that 38% of Americans believe the entire Bible was written several decades after Jesus' death and resurrection, and that 12% of adults believe that Noah's wife was Joan of Arc. (Barna Research Online, "The Bible," www.barna.org. This information is based on 2000 figures)

Last week we looked at how our worship life on Sunday morning should permeate our daily living for the rest of the week. This week we turn that around and look at how what we do during the week should affect our worship on Sunday morning. Early this week I received an email called Cross Currents, written by someone once part of this congregation. This week's writing by Lynn Hutton is especially appropriate for our current sermons. She writes:

In my reading last week, I discovered an interesting statement from Marjorie Thompson, who teaches and writes about spiritual disciplines. She points out that if you want your corporate worship experience on Sunday morning to be richer, the best thing you can do is make your personal worship during the week more profound. She defends this statement by reminding her reader that in previous generations many, if not most, church families had devotions together during the week. There was a time of Bible reading and prayer in the family circle. In frontier homes where there were no other books, the Bible also served as the story book, and children were taught to say their prayers before bedtime. So it was that when the congregation came to worship on Sunday morning, there were all these rivulets of personal devotion that ran together to form a mighty stream of worship. Today, without all those tributaries flowing into one river, our worship and congregational life can feel arid and sere.

Again, what we experience here on Sunday morning should affect our daily lives … at the same time what we do during the week will affect our worship together. It works both ways. Our worship life will be enriched by preparing for Sunday morning during the week. One hour of worship on Sunday morning can not be enough to sustain our spiritual needs … our souls will be parched if that is all they get. Our lectionary readings from Isaiah and the Psalm both speak of souls thirsting for God. Regular Bible reading is essential in deepening our discipleship. We need to figure out ways to give time to that … to develop Bible reading as a habit. Using the concept of "practices" that we have been working with … delving into the scriptures needs to become a daily practice; coupled with our prayer life. Wisdom from someone in choir member Warren Moe's family says: "practice makes permanent." Think of the habits you have developed over your life. Think there is no time for Bible reading in the midst of them? How many minutes a day do you spend reading the newspaper?

Jesus as always is our example. He lived and breathed the scriptures of his faith. When challenged he could respond with the sacred texts … when in deep need, he knew where to turn to find sustenance. Even in the moments of betrayal and death there were scriptures to surround him with strength and comfort. We learn and study our scriptures not because we want to show off how much we know. Rather, we know our scriptures so that when life hits us we have texts to shape our responses.

In the example of Jesus Christ, we are sent to let the discipleship of scripture reading become as natural as our breathing … to let the scriptures form and shape us as God's people. May you find in your practice of Bible reading the Word of God … the World of life … given for you and for the world.