At our last meeting, while we were waiting to begin, a few of us talked about the book, Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Now I'm sure most people would think that this was not related to our ecumenical Bible Study, Yet I believe that elements like this could be a part of what we share as we meet to study the word.
Now I am not suggesting that we base our meetings on anything other than a study of the life of Paul and his letters, yet I find it very much in line with his letters to think about beautiful things that are not necessarily directly talked about in his letters. In Philippians 4, he says as much,
"whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
I was also thinking about the approach Jesus took when he was preaching. I think he would gladly welcome a discussion of Uncle Tom's Cabin just as he would a discussion of the lilies of the field, mustard seeds, the qualities of light, treasures found in a field, examples of charity, hypothetical ethical questions, etc. He obviously thought that it was important to be grounded in the Scriptures; Jesus and the Gospel writers often quote scripture. It is also important to see that Jesus himself was the fulfillment of Scripture. Yet Jesus often simply appeals to natural truths, real-life examples, and other non-scriptural ways to shed light on truth.
I look forward to more times during our meetings where people make note of or to express praise for whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, etc. The Community Bible Study curriculum already leaves openings for discussing how the scripture can be applied to our lives, and we will look for other ways to bring cultural elements to bear on the day's discussions.
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What's interesting about this from an ecumenical perspective is that this was a piece of work that we all admired. The author was from a Congregational/Anglican background which none of us shared; yet it was good. We agreed that it was true, honorable, beautiful, and excellent (at least the few who read it did).
I had a similar experience when I went to college at the University of Minnesota and first began to read the writings of Fyodor Dostoevsky. I had grown up within the Baptist Church and had a bias toward books written by born-again Christians. I made one exception for the writings of the Anglican C.S. Lewis, but other than that I shied away from those who weren't coming from the same perspective, thinking to myself something like, "Why should I want to hear truth preached from someone who was not born again?"
Since joining the Catholic Church 20 years ago I have seen the same sentiment from Catholics who are often inclined to read mostly books by Saints and other Catholics. Now I don't think that sentiment is entirely wrong, as there is a certain tendency to look for re-enforcement in our beliefs that are sometimes in need of confirmation. And there is a certain trust of writers that are celebrated and honored by people who share our faith.
But with Harriett Beecher Stowe, and in my case with Dostoevsky, I tasted something that was clearly excellent; something that was beautiful and true. And through it I gained a lesson from God that I might not otherwise have gotten.
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