Photo and Commentary (c)2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, January 4, 2026
READ, say the rocks outside the Anacortes, Washington Public Library. Are they commanding or inviting?
I’ve always seen it as an invitation, because I love to read. My parents and my two older sisters were always reading, so it seemed natural to aspire to do the same, as soon as I could get the hang of it.
But there are so many reasons why people don’t see READ as a friendly invitation. There are a myriad of difficulties that can make it challenging and frustrating for people to read.
And there are other people who just have so many other talents and interests that they don’t make time to literally focus on reading. At least not reading written material.
What other reading material is there, you may ask. I’m thinking of a friend who is quite capable of reading but not all that interested in doing so, as far as books go. Yet she excels in reading people – paying attention to them, catching on to what they’re saying and what they’re meaning, responding to them.
And yes, this reminds me of Jesus. He was well read in the Scriptures (home schooled by Mary, not taught in the rabbinic schools) and retained what He read. When the devil tempted Him after He had fasted for forty days in the wilderness and was thus at a low point, He met the devil’s words with the Word. “It is written . . .” The devil left. Unfortunately, only to regroup:
Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13 NKJV)
And soon thereafter, reading got Jesus into trouble. Big trouble.
He returns to Galilee, teaches in the synagogues, “being glorified by all.” He travels back home to Nazareth, goes to synagogue on the Sabbath day, and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. He finds and reads the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
(Luke 4:18 -19)
So far, so good. Everyone is listening intently. But then Jesus comments on what He has read to them, and the people “were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.” (Luke 4:28b-30)
Because He spent many nights in prayer to His Father, He could read the hearts and minds of the people who surrounded Him and followed Him. He encouraged those who were genuinely seeking truth, and challenged those who were hanging on His words in order to use them against Him.
I find the following conversation to be one of the most poignant encounters Jesus has:
Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”
And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
(Mark 10:17;22)
Jesus looked at him, loved him, read his heart and knew what he needed most . . . but this nameless man who has gone down in history as “the rich young ruler” was so possessed by his possessions that he walked away from the One who loved him most.
As we launch out into a new week in this fresh new year, I’m asking the Holy Spirit to help me read the Word with understanding, and respond with obedience and trust. I’m also asking for help in reading people well, so that I can be a standby-er rather than a bystander.
Happy, Healthy, Hope-filled New Year to You and Yours!