Around the halls of Emmaus, we are always delighted to hear this sort of question.
Perhaps it follows upon a new (or renewed) effort to read the whole Bible or even a certain book in the Bible, whereupon the eager reader finds him-/herself stumped about the meaning of a particular verse or passage. Perhaps it’s the result of reading or listening to the Mass readings, and discovering a line or a concept that doesn’t quite make sense.
Whatever the case, should you find yourself in this kind of situation, fear not! It doesn’t mean you’re a bad Bible reader—in fact, it means just the opposite. It means that you recognize the importance of hearing what the Lord has to say in his Word. It means that you realize the value of the text in your hands, and that you’re sensitive to the challenges of handling it well, so that you’ll receive what God wants you to have from it. And we agree: sometimes, the Bible can be confusing.
St. Robert Bellarmine (patron saint of Emmaus) admitted as much:
“If you consider the things [that are said in Scripture], it is necessary to admit that the Scriptures are very obscure, since they speak about the greatest mysteries—the divine Trinity, the Incarnation of the Word, the heavenly Sacraments, the nature of the angels, the operation of God on the minds of men, eternal predestination and reprobation, and all kinds of arcane and supernatural things, which are investigated not without a lot of study and hard work, and not without the danger of falling into grave errors. Certainly, if the science of Metaphysics is more difficult and obscure than all other natural disciplines, because it considers the first causes, why will not sacred Scripture be obscure, which is treating things much more lofty?” (Controversies, I.III.I.)
Further complicating the issue, perhaps: you may set out to find a good commentary to aid you in your quest to know God’s Word, only to realize that the world of biblical commentaries is even more vast than the Bible itself.
Our good friend Michael Barber of the Augustine Institute recently posted a piece over on The Sacred Page entitled, “The ‘Best’ Bible Commentary Series”. If you would benefit from the assistance of an expert in the field, then we highly recommend a read-through of Michael’s post. It’s not long, yet insightful for its brevity, and it covers a helpful array of different commentary sets and the audiences to which they’re likely to appeal.
Feel free to post your thoughts about Michael’s recommendations. Which commentaries have you found especially helpful–and for which biblical books?
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