Reflection for the Week - July 24

Faithful biblical interpretation does not stop when the reader experiences the meaning of the text, but only when that experienced meaning is lived out towards the other and into the world. Once this action takes place there is then a retro movement back from other and world to the reader, who then re-engages and is re-engaged by the text, in order to prepare for a new encounter. Responsible interpretation means that readers must know what to do with meaning, since this is not information to be stored or defended as ideology or utopia, but it is to be lived in continual pursuit for optimal understanding.