“. . . the word of God is not chained,” the writer of our epistle points out. Yet we have a tendency to try to corral it with our particular understanding. Folks like to keep God’s word under control, as if that were possible. Unchained by any of our efforts, God’s word comes to get our attention, to shake us up, to set us on fire with God’s love.

God’s creating, life-changing, healing, encouraging, loving word comes to each of us as we are open to receive it. We can keep our hearts and minds closed, and it likely will roll right off us like water off a duck’s back. If, however, we take time to focus on God’s word in Holy Scripture, we may be surprised to discover how active and unchained the Word can be in our lives. Daily Bible reading opens the path to our hearts where God’s world can be discerned. Though, to be sure, our attitude about our reading changes our receptivity. It helps if we are alert and expectant when we read. On the other hand, if we zoom through the passage(s) just to get it done, we may not get much out of it. Taking the time to use lectio divina where we read, reflect, respond, and rest with the word or the Ignatian method of imagining ourselves active participants in the passage reaches us more deeply than merely reading the words. To experience how these techniques unchain the Word for you, you might try both methods on the same passage and see how God uses each of them to touch your heart. Journaling with any insights or implications for action you receive is a good way to continue unchaining the Word.

As we come to know God’s word in our daily Bible reading, it is helpful to use different translations as a way of loosening our chains. As we read along, thinking we know this story well, a word appears that pulls us up short. That’s not how we remember it, and it leads us to hear God’s word to us this day in a new way. Our perception of the depth and breadth of divine wisdom is stretched by the difference. Such stretching may break our chains and set us free to rejoice in the unchained word of God here and now.