On the last Sunday of 2023, I had the opportunity to worship in the Lifelight Contemporary Service. There were several upbeat praise songs including a personal favorite: The Goodness of God. As I sang along, I noticed a dad and his young daughter join us on the back row. At one point during the song, the dad turned to his daughter and began to teach her, by example, how to clap to the rhythm of the praise songs. I was awed by this dad’s willingness to teach his daughter part of worship.
That afternoon, as I looked ahead to our 2024 theme: “A Year in the Bible,” I wondered who taught me how to love and appreciate reading the Bible? Just as that dad taught his daughter how to clap in rhythm to a praise song, I imagine most of us had people who taught us how to read the Bible. Who taught you?
My earliest memory is of my maternal grandmother. She loved to sit in her rocking chair on her screened-in porch, pray her rosary and read her Bible. I remember how her eyes would light up as she lovingly held her Bible in her rugged hands and read out loud when I visited. My second memory is when Mrs. Leggitt, a foundational and formational presence in my life as a child, gave me my first Bible. It was pink! I was so proud of that Bible; it meant so much to me and I can visualize, even to this day, how I proudly held my bible in my arms as I walked into church.
As a child, I remember that we were expected to bring our Bibles to Sunday school; we were expected to memorize our weekly Bible verse, and we were expected to read our Bibles. That’s just the way Mrs. Leggitt ran her Sunday school class. Of course, we were rewarded with stars that went on a chart, and hugs from Mrs. Leggitt. There were many who taught our class after that, but Mrs. Leggitt taught me how to love reading the Bible. She did so by example.
And then, there were professors in both my undergraduate and graduate studies that taught me how to read the Bible from an academic perspective. I am grateful for their wisdom and for helping me learn that there are many ways to read the Bible. As I read through the Bible this year, alongside many of you, I will read it knowing that a love of scripture was instilled in me by many who patiently and lovingly taught me. I am grateful for each one. Will you take a moment to reflect: Who taught you? Who will you teach?
– Rev. Linda Harker, Online Campus Pastor
