‘Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart.’-Je 15:16

Jeremiah, the prophet whose feast we commemorate this week in the Armenian Church and whose words I began with, recommends we consume the books of the Bible again and again. ‘Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart,’ exclaims Jeremiah, ‘for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.’  Now of course Jeremiah is not being literal here. Although both my children have literally chewed off pages from their books on occasion, Jeremiah is pointing to a greater truth.  He is saying that God’s word is to be taken in slowly, digested fully, and done repeatedly just as when we physically eat. English philosopher Francis Bacon said it well: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.”  The words of God, more than any other words, are meant to be enjoyed over and over, fully digested and enjoyed.