Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray: 

My God, I adore and thank your loving and wise Providence, manifested on every page of Sacred Scripture. You have always been close to sinful and erring humanity, and have indicated the way and given hope. Amid the shadows of error and corruption, you kindled the light of your truth; amid universal corruption, you are the Just One; amid so much idolatry, humanity in every corner of the earth has cultivated a sincere worship of you.
Let my reading today increase my trust in your goodness, your mercy, and your unfailing faithfulness.

Today's chapters are Judges 12-14.

Chapter 13 brings us one of the most popular stories in the entire Bible. Who doesn't like a superman? That's how Samson is usually portrayed with his incredible strength—and a peculiar Achille's heel (on his head, not at his foot!). As long as he keeps the Nazirite vow, Samson will be a sign to the people of the power of God in their midst. 

Reading the story in the light of the New Testament, we notice something more. An angel gives Samson's nameless mother the same instructions about her yet-to-be conceived son as Gabriel gives the priest Zechariah about the future John the Baptist. In fact, there are several meaningful convergences and divergences between the two birth announcements:

In both narratives, the boy-child to be conceived is to live by the Nazarite restrictions: a sign that his entire life is consecrated to God. The birth to a heretofore childless couple signals the beginning of the deliverance of Israel from servitude.

The Old Testament story opens in a homey setting; the New Testament in the Temple. In the first story, the announcement is made to the soon-to-be mother; in the Gospel, the announcement is made to the soon-to-be father. In the Book of Judges, the messenger is unnamed; in the Gospel of Luke, we are told that it is the Angel Gabriel (known to the people of Israel from the Book of Daniel and the non-biblical Book of Enoch). 

            Start reading here.

If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts, and how each book of the Bible has been understood by the Church Fathers and used in Liturgy.