literature as liturgy

I wrote this randomly on an iPhone note one day: it’s important for you to read theological books because they help to form your soul.

I never planned to read in my spare time, but I was never going to escape this fate. Both my parents are readers, especially my dad. Growing up, their bedroom was full of towering shelves overflowing with books on theology, sociology, and ethics. When I wanted to escape scorching Midwestern summer days, I sat in their room and discovered the world inside of those books. No one told me to go in there to read, but something drew me in.

Reading reveals myself to myself. It divulges what my true interests are and not just what I profess them to be. Reading confronts me with my shortcomings and compels me to do better, try harder, and live up to higher expectations. It’s a very pastoral experience, in the sense that certain books counsel me as a pastor would counsel a member of their flock. Sitting down to read is akin to spiritual practice for me. I feel closer to God with my nose in a book than I do with my body in a pew.

If I loved in a state with beaches or mountains, I’d find God in those types of places. But I live in the middle of the country and we lack natural beauty in the grand sense and so I turn to books. If you’re startled by current events or feeling a distinct lack of place, I urge you to begin reading. I don’t believe the world is going to calm itself in the near future and so we must find way to calm ourselves; building strong, internal structures that can weather the coming storms.

Reading is step one of building those type of structures. It calms you, counsels you, and helps you capture an image of the sort of life you want to live.