end of November

Week 48

December 1…I’m into the last month of the reading year and today I did my last Reading Review progress-check. I know that by November 30 I need to read 92% of the bible. So I’m relieved to see that I’ve read 95%. I’m glad to be ahead. (I’m especially glad since December is the hardest reading-month for me because a) there’s a bunch of preoccupying seasonal busynesses and b) I’ll be faced with Revelation at the end (one of bible-reading’s Heartbreak Hills). But barring some Major Unexpected Event I figure I can finish on time.
There’s one glitch though. I’ve been reading Paul’s letters. Whenever I read Paul I’m faced with a low-grade frustration over the way he writes. He seems to be all-over-the-map. Normally I just accept the annoyance. But this past month a surprising thought came to me. What if Paul is more coherent than I think? What if I’m just not getting it?
So I’m going to go back and re-read the Ephesians letter a couple more times. It’s an add-on exercise I’m giving myself: does Paul have a consistent theme through one whole letter (my suspicion is that he doesn’t – so he’ll have to prove I’m wrong).
I’ve still got to keep up with my December reading – that’s my priority. But I’m curious enough that I’ll be looking at Ephesians for the next couple of days. It’s an extra task during a busy month. So we’ll see.