The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
November 30, 2008
Vol. 11 no. 47

Everything But...
           Do you remember getting lost in a wonderfully filled candy store? Everything looked delicious and it was hard to make choices. All too often the end result was a wee overdose of sugar. Whether it is my age or taste, I no longer find myself so desperately tempted as in earlier years. I am not sure whether that is a blessing or curse.
          This past week I spent a few days in another sort of candy store - the book exhibits at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Rows and rows of publishers with their delicious wares on discount in a space easily the size of the Fieldhouse floor. Such exhibits are dangerous places, of course. Fortunately, I am known to be one who squeezes the loonie until it sings. Nevertheless, so many good books, so little time, so little money, so little weight allowance for the airplane brings on a kind of “overwhelmsion.”
          Today begins a new Christian year, the most notable shift being in the particular parts of the Bible we read. In Lectionary parlance this is Year B in which the Gospel according to Mark takes centre stage. Things begin slowly in Advent, and it is not until after Pentecost that we really start to hear and read Mark, the first and shortest of the Gospels.
          The Bible is another kind of candy store: there is much more in it than we can ever digest. The size of the Bible is definitely of Fieldhouse dimensions, and there is incredible variety of themes, literary genres, moods and contents. And yes, there are many parts which ‘contradict’ others! Even reading the same story again is something new. While the endless Biblical diversity may be overwhelming, you don’t overdose, although it must be said, being saturated with the Word isn’t a bad fate.