{"id":14,"date":"2018-06-21T14:55:37","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T14:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/hearthegospel\/?p=14"},"modified":"2018-06-29T23:20:30","modified_gmt":"2018-06-29T23:20:30","slug":"hear-gospel-read-outloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/hearthegospel\/2018\/06\/hear-gospel-read-outloud.html","title":{"rendered":"Hear the Gospel Read Out Loud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experience the Gospel of Mark 2:23-3:6<\/strong><\/p>\n

This passage from Mark is found in the revised common lectionary provided by the Vanderbilt Divinity Library. The text is from the NRSV. You can hear a recording of the reading here.<\/a>\u00a0 Title:\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>The Reader<\/strong> \u2014Mark 2:23 – 3:6<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When reading the Gospel aloud, we invite the audience to join us in an encounter with scripture and the experience of life that encounter reveals. We can leave interpretation and meaning to members of the clergy and other scholars. That\u2019s what they do. What we can do, as readers, is offer the audience an experience with scripture: the word, given a human voice.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOne sabbath Jesus and his disciples were going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain\u2026\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In this reading, Jesus and his disciples are going about the business of quietly remaking the world. There is a sense of quiet movement that is interrupted by the Pharisees. Jesus takes each opportunity to provide the Pharisees with teaching moments. But they appear not to listen and remain silent in response.<\/p>\n

As you read scripture aloud, the scene begins to take shape before and around you and you begin to inhabit the narrative. You begin to experience the narrative yourself.\u00a0 You begin to see and hear things you would otherwise miss and feel empathy for those around you. You\u2019re able to invite the audience to see what you see, hear what you hear, and begin their own experience of the narrative. Reading aloud makes it easier for all participants to share in an experience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Text Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n

As readers, we\u2019re not attempting an exegesis of the text.\u00a0 We challenge ourselves and the audience to hear and see through and beyond the printed words on a page to experience the dynamics of human longing, joy, pain, conflict and struggle in the presence of the divine. We look for subtext.<\/p>\n

As I read this passage aloud to myself \u2013 in preparation for reading aloud to others — here are some things that stand out to me:<\/p>\n