A Response to Shaped By the Word

            One of the greatest gifts we have been given in history is the written Word of God.  Through this record and elaboration of God’s activity and interaction with humanity we find wisdom beyond description and encouragement without parallel.  In light of this one would think that Scripture would play a vital role in the lives of each and every Christian.  Yet, it seems that this is not the case, that Scripture has instead been oftentimes pushed to the side and not properly utilized in the development of Christian lives.  M. Robert Mulholland in his book Shaped By the Word seeks to expound on why Scripture is indeed so very crucial in the lives of all Christians and why it is imperative that Scripture becomes a regular part of our daily lives, and our understanding of our Christian walk.  In this paper I will seek to first discuss Mulholland’s basic theses, attempting to show how he views Christian formation as a whole and what role he feels Scripture plays in it.  Next, I will seek to discover how this relates to my own walk, and by discussing my own story draw out new insights and ideas which may be important for our overall understanding.  Then I will seek to find how this text has challenged me, and in fact where it has adjusted or altered my understanding of the role of Scripture.  With this in mind, I will end with a discussion on how then I will translate these thoughts into some kind of action or visible modification of my life, understanding the Biblical concept that knowing is doing.

            This book is of an interesting structure.  It is not until the tenth chapter that Mulholland actually begins to deal with the title subject of the power of Scripture in Spiritual Formation.  The nine chapters prior to this are essentially an extended preface, in which he lays out his presuppositions, establishes his vocabulary and concepts, and seeks to build a renewed awareness of the person and the practice of reading which are essential underlying foundations to his later discussion of the role Scripture plays in the spiritual life.  His first concept which he lays out is the idea that God speaks various words, each having the same source, and thus related in a vital way.  The usual understanding of the Word is two-fold:  Jesus as the living Word, and Scripture as the written Word.  However, Mulholland adds to this the concept that each person is also the word of God, spoken into existence by him, relying eternally on his sustenance, and purposed for a specific role and place in the overall plan of God. 

            Tied with this is the essential idea that the view of God in this world is essentially very different from the common view of humanity.  His eternal perspective and Divine mind has so ordered the entire universe in a unique and specific way.  The word which we are called to be by God is not what we currently exist as, rather are lives now tend toward being “garbled, debased, and distorted”, and thus we require some kind of retooling and renewing in order to find our way back to the definition for which we were called into being.  Mulholland calls this eternal perspective the “kairotic”, meaning the fulfilled and perfected perspective and life which characterizes one who views reality from God’s eternal point of view.  This is not easy or natural for us to do, and our own tendencies and infirmities fight actively against our gaining this viewpoint.  Thus we have to discipline ourselves, forcibly and actively transforming and being transformed into the image of Christ, so that we can live as we were meant to live. 

            Foundational to this discipline of change is the reading of Scripture.  Yet even here we run into an obstacle, for the way in which we have been trained to read, for information, is not adequate enough for us to gain spiritual growth.  In order for us to be whole, to live a life as God intended when he called us forth, we must add to our informational reading a reading which encompasses our whole being: mind, body and spirit.  This idea of formational reading comes not through the typical patterns of absorbing vast quantities of words and ideas for later use, but rather by training ourselves to read contemplatively, allowing the very Spirit who inspired Scripture to inspire us, to actively engage our whole being in the absorption of the Holy words which we have been given.   It is only through this holistic style of reading which engages our spirit that we can become whole ourselves, formed into the image for which we have been created, and reflecting to others the meaning for which God created the word which we are. 

            In chapter ten, Mulholland proceeds to describe the techniques, patterns, and manners in which we can engage Scripture in such a holistic way.  Drawing from the thoughts of Wesley and Merton throughout the book, he continues by summarizes and explaining their basic concepts of reading Scripture.  What we find is that the power of Scripture in Spiritual formation does not come through simply finishing and getting through the old and new Testaments, but rather engaging equally the variety of writings we have been given so that the Spirit can use what has been written to write upon our hearts, healing those places which we have been corrupted, and restoring us to a purity of meaning and being for which we were intended.  This is indeed a very long process, which requires constant devotion and attention, but through the prophets, the historians, the law-givers, the Evangelists, the letter-writers, we can find the reality and kairotic perspective which will guide us into fullness and allow us to participate ever more fully in the life of the Triune God, and find peace and light by adapting into and learning about who God intends us to be as individuals and as a community.

            This idea resonates with my own life very strongly in several areas.  One of the more profound moments in my life (a time of spontaneous formation if you will) came the first time  I understood this idea of being a word called forth by God.  I can still distinctly remember sitting in my bedroom, about six months after graduating high school, despairing about the circumstances in my life, my own purpose and direction, and feeling generally rather depressed and without hope.  While on a day off, I happened to switch the television onto a preacher who was talking about God’s plan for each and every person and develop the idea of God’s purposefulness and design for each individual.  This resonated with me in a way which gave me seemingly instant hope, and instant light, and sparked something in my soul which has brought me down a steep path of spiritual development. 

In understanding this idea of being a word called forth by God, though with different terminology, I was inspired to attend a Christian college, and while there went through a process which resulted in my graduating with  a degree in history and Biblical studies.  This inspiration came about because while at this school I developed a realization of God’s perspective, and with this came a yearning to develop my understanding of this perspective and seek to adjust my life accordingly.  However, I realized that my own history in the Church had not taught me this perspective adequately, and I was forced to really begin to study the Scriptures and other holy writings in this quest for my own growth and spiritual formation.  So, in many ways, the development which Mulholland follows in his book in outlining first the needed outlooks, and then the appropriate techniques which follow and support these perspectives, has a visible parallel in my own life, in which God has written chapters of my story which seem to follow a similar pattern.

As this is similar to my own story, which in many ways also benefited greatly by the studying of Wesley and Merton, I did not seem to find much which was either new or challenging to my own awareness.  I can say, however, that this book served to reinforce and provide interesting vocabulary to these conceptions.  In several areas I found this book to be more obviously reinforcing.  The first was the idea of the iconographic nature of Scripture.  To be honest, this was a concept which I had to wrestle with, not least because of my own tradition’s distrust of icons.  Yet, while I may dispute the exact terminology and think that this concept could be more adequately explained using different wording, the idea that Scripture is both the words written, and something more is intriguing.  Scripture not only exists to be perused, but it itself peruses us, it is words written, yet it points to the eternal God who is written on our hearts.  This idea opens up the concept of the grand role of Scripture in our lives, and its inherent holiness, which is a worthwhile idea to keep in mind. 

With this idea comes the challenge of changing our pattern of reading in order to acknowledge and get the most out of this iconographic nature of Scripture.  There were pointed times in which I was reminded of my own tendency to read informationally (especially when he pointed out that one sign is looking to see how many pages are left in the chapter, and I had just done this prior to getting to that sentence).  Although, this intensive reading does not lend itself to the contemplative style which he recommended, there is still a pointed reminder in what he was saying.  This is not new, however, as I just finished a course in Spiritual Disciplines in which a major topic was in fact the contemplative reading of Scripture.  In my own life I have found myself developing this style, and introducing my small group to the idea of lectio divina.  Though not new, this is an interesting reinforcement of a concept which I am currently working through, and as such an encouragement and push towards developing this further.

And this is where this book affects not only my mind but my actions.  Having understood his theses of the vital importance of Scripture in our Spiritual formation I cannot simply toss this book aside without somehow responding to the challenge and reminders which it offered.  In examining my own life, I realize that Scripture has in many ways  played a rather haphazard role, vitally important at times, but not consistently or methodically studied, especially in the more holistic manners which he described.  With this I find an urging to develop this consistent, methodical approach, and not simply think of this a good idea in my head, but reflect its goodness in my actions.  So, I plan to continue to develop my practice of lectio divina, as well as begin to seek out a quality lectionary which will aid me in balancing my reading and provide a framework for this new study and reflection.  I truly believe that Scripture is essential and powerful in Spiritual formation, and have witnessed this in my own life in countless ways, yet my current devotions and disciplines do not reflect this powerful nature, so it is essential that I develop this discipline, and seek to bring balance and wholeness to my Spiritual life by approaching the written Word in a new and fresh way.