THOUGHTS FROM THE CENTER AISLE

Comments and Meditations from the Rev. Robert Bergner, Priest-in-Charge

Welcome to Thoughts from the Center Aisle.

What follows are mainly my reflections on lectionary scripture, but also other theological and spiritual musings. Sometimes there will be a full sermon, sometimes just notes and sketches.

Please feel free to comment in a constructive, civil way. I will be happy to learn what you have to say.

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Here are three things to keep in mind when reading, thinking about and discussing scripture:

The Bible is a multivocal compilation of documents written over the course of more than a thousand years. Its authors (with several authors sometimes team writing—willingly or not—the same document) say different things in different places—even within their own writings. And that's okay!
As with any text (or anything), each reader reads and interprets biblical text from the perspective of her or his own personal experience, education and preferences (which inevitably change over time). Like snowflakes, no two readers are alike and no two interpretations are the same.
The Bible was written in three ancient languages—Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. None of these languages have been used in their ancient form for hundreds, even thousands, of years. Those ancient languages are then translated in myriad variations into hundreds of languages that are spoken today. Given the impressive linguistic complexities of translating defunct languages and the transformation of life and culture that has taken place over several thousand years, it is nearly impossible that the sense we take from, say, a modern English translation of a biblical text is precisely what its original author or authors intended. Translation is interpretation.

Cheers,

Bob

Our Recent Posts

Reflections for Sunday, September 6, 2020

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, August 30, 2020

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, May 28, 2020

Happy Birthday Church, Happy Birthday Grace and St Peter’s! Sunday is Pentecost, the day (two thousand years ago) when the Holy Spirit swept into the house where Jesus’ disciples were hunkered down, alighted on them like tongues of fire, and cast them out into the public square to proclaim the Good News in multiple languages for the throngs assembled in Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of...well, Pentecost. Traditionally, we call that particular polyglot Pentecost of wind and fire, fifty days after the first Easter Sunday, the beginning of the Church. And, amidst all the current public conversation about opening churches or keeping churches closed, amidst our own concerns about when we might

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, May 21, 2020

Today—Thursday, May 21—is the Feast of the Ascension. Forty days after Easter morning, the Book of Acts relates that Jesus is taken up into heaven while his disciples look on. Jesus has just commanded them to remain in Jerusalem until they are baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days time (as the story goes, that would be ten days from now on Pentecost). And from there, he tells them, they will be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). For a summer fifteen years ago, Church of the Ascension on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan was my neighborhood church. While working as an intern at the Anglican Communion Observer’s Office at the U

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, May 14, 2020

Dear Grace and St Peter’s, I hope you all continue to be well. I know that a couple of you have spent time dealing with coronavirus symptoms and I am delighted and grateful that you are now feeling better. Today, I am going to wax a bit more practical than I have in my weekly messages. First, as Connecticut prepares for an initial stage of re-openings next week, I want to keep you informed about our parish timeline for gathering together again in person. Our bishops have recommended that we wait at least until the second stage of re-openings on June 20 to begin considering live gatherings either inside or out of doors. The Grace and St Peter’s officers and I feel that following the bishop

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, May 7, 2020

Dear Grace and St Peter’s, It’s a perfect day in Connecticut! Days like this one made Pam and me fall in love with Southern Connecticut when we first moved here ten years ago. The sky is blue, a gentle breeze blows, trees return to the rich green of spring and summer, birds sing, flowers bloom, herons fish stealthily in a nearby river. All of creation chants a hymn of praise to its creator; every leaf and petal, every hill and stream reflect her glory. What a great day to be stuck at home writing to you from my back porch. Today is also the National Day of Prayer in the United States. So, while I am here on my back porch enjoying the wonders of creation and writing this missive, I am also

Rev. Bob’s Weekly Message, April 30

Dear Grace and St Peter’s, I was hiking in East Rock Park this morning. It was a lovely, if somewhat cool, spring morning with tiny leaves emerging from dormant tree limbs and rain drops dancing on the mirrored waters of the Mill River. As you can imagine, between the weather and virus concerns, I had the park pretty much to myself. Walking along, I thought of all of you—all of us rather—hunkered down in our homes, not sure when it will be safe to go out, when it will be safe to gather again as a community of faith. I thought of all of us holding each other in prayer and feeling ourselves sustained by the prayers and good wishes of each other in spite of the physical distance between us.

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