Memorial of Saint Jerome, priest and doctor of the Church
Have you ever been grumpy with a Saint? Hopefully, your answer was no. For much of my life, my answer was no. But now that I have begun today’s reflection this way, you can probably guess what my answer is. And now I get to write on that Saint’s feast day.
Yes, I’m a little salty with St. Jerome. Believe me, I get the irony of writing a reflection on Scripture and being cross with the man who gave us the Vulgate and famously said: “Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ.” I’m the coordinator for the parish library and have issues with the patron saint of librarians! I have belabored my point for too long though. One might ask at this point, what is my beef, what is my point, and what does it have to do with today’s readings?
My issue is something for which I can’t hold Jerome responsible. Unbeknownst to him, over 1000 years after he died, Martin Luther proclaimed Jerome as his reason for excluding part of the Old Testament. While I fully understand that this is a vast oversimplification of the events that led to Christianity not sharing the same list of Scriptural books, I still feel a knee-jerk reaction. I still feel torn about a Saint who did so much for love of Scripture and at the same time was a contributing factor in creating division over it. Because of our differences, I'll never have deep conversations about Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, and Sirach with my in-laws.
While wrestling with this immediate response it was laid on my heart that frustrations with holy men and women of God can be legitimate, but also can serve to distract us. How easy it is for me to want to go on a tangent about Scripture trivia instead of devoting my time to knowing and loving Scripture. Would that I loved Scripture half as much as Jerome. Jerome, who loved God’s word so deeply that his thoughts on Scripture were passed down from generation to generation into Martin Luther’s hands and mine. I can stand here now and feel grumpy about the repercussions of Jerome’s opinions, but I believe the Lord is inviting me to instead feel challenged and convicted that my devotion to Scripture is limited to the history of the list of books.
This brings me to what all of this has to do with today’s readings. I have been feeling more and more convinced that I have become a believer interested in dissecting Scripture instead of ingesting it. I want to read about God’s word instead of reading it. I want to talk about Scripture instead of allowing it to speak to me. And worst of all, I stand proud that my Bible has the books Luther excluded even though I rarely turn to them. Yet here in today’s readings I am offered the reminder that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” I want to reserve Scripture for mental gymnastics when it is supposed to be the very tool by which I train my heart and soul. Surely my mind should be sharpened by Scripture, but only after my heart has been pierced.
I pray that I am alone in my temptation, but if I am not, I ask you to echo with me the words of today’s psalm, “Within my heart I treasure your promise, that I may not sin against you.” Help me to love Your word. Allow me to give your Word mastery over me, instead of seeking Mastery over it.
- Spencer Hargadon