Hermes was the Greek god of eloquence and communication. Zeus usually employed Hermes to deliver his messages to the world because the young god was swift by air and fleet of foot.
Consequently Hermes is usually pictured with winged sandals and winged helmet. Hermes however has also made a contribution to Christian studies. A word seldom heard outside of theological circles is rooted in this divinity’s name. Hermeneutics refers to the manner in which one approaches a subject and the manner one employs to transmit that subject.
More often than not, hermeneutics is used to express the ways Scripture is interpreted and taught. A scientific hermeneutic would study Scripture only from a technical point of view. A linguistic hermeneutic would be concerned only about words. One could investigate Scripture merely as history, or as mythology, or as folklore or as a collection of sagas and legends. The hermeneutic with which one approaches Scripture will of course largely determine what one draws out of Scripture. There are people today who read Scripture as God’s literal word and are scandalized at the thought of evolution. There are people today who read Scripture as a collection of Middle Eastern fables and are sustained by the beauty of the Bible’s symbols and allegories. The frame of mind, the hermeneutic, with which one approaches the Bible is vital to appreciating the full revelatory nature of the Bible. In this light, the church is the new Hermes; the living church is the messenger of God bringing the fullness of scriptural revelation to the world.
In the recently published post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Verbum Domini,” Pope Benedict XVI in concert with the bishops of the church points out the fundamental criterion for a comprehensive biblical hermeneutic: the primary setting for scriptural interpretation is the life of the church. To be authentically and fully interpreted, the Bible must be read in the light of church practice, church experience, church tradition. The Bible was formed out of faith, out of the living tradition of the early Jews and early Christians and the Bible now must be understood in the context of faith, within the framework of the church’s living tradition.
The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by people who worshipped, lived, studied, and suffered together. The Bible was born of a faith community. So nowadays, exegetes, theologians and the whole people of God must interpret the Bible while fully participating in the life of the believing community. The Bible is the product of the Christian community and the Bible can only be fully understood by those who fully embrace the Christian community.
The pope and the synodal fathers certainly praised the technical, linguistic and historical analyses of the Bible that have truly advanced modern man’s grasp of the original ancient texts. But the Bible cannot be suitably approached from a merely scientific point of view anymore than it can be properly approached from a purely literal aspect. Technical advances must be employed and literal phrases must be understood within the context of the complete Christian faith. “Verbum Domini” teaches wisely and pastorally, “An authentic interpretation of the Bible must always be in harmony with the faith of the Catholic Church.” These words do not restrict Biblical interpretation; they simply indicate the fertile church environment in which genuine interpretation is to be found.
In this Sunday’s lively and colorful Gospel account of the cure of the man born blind, Jesus famously announces, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus, of course, is the fullness of revelation. Every divine and human truth is to be discovered in him. Jesus, so to speak, was the Hermes of his day, bringing the good news of the Kingdom of God to the world.
Jesus conveyed the meaning of the kingdom not simply by his preaching or by his miracles, but rather by personal interchanges and living encounters. Jesus asks the recently cured man, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” In his confusion the man replies, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus enlightens him, “… the one speaking with you is he.” At this exchange the man rejoices, “I do believe, Lord!” and he worships him.
As this incident shows, Jesus was fully appreciated as the light of the world only in the context of a living faith encounter. The Scriptures, too, can only be fully appreciated by those who proclaim and hear them with an active Christian faith.
