The Bible and The Church: Inseparable
From a homily on today's Gospel (Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21)
St. Luke indicates, first, the importance of the Church and of Tradition. As he explains, many before him had already "undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us" (Lk 1:1-2). Before St. Luke ever put pen to paper, so to speak, there already existed the Church and the oral tradition - literally, the "handing down" - of the faith. He did not invent a story or teach something new. Rather, as a faithful Christian he handed on the truth he received from the Church. From the start, then, St. Luke conveys the simple fact that the Church existed before the Gospels, and in fact wrote the Gospels.
It follows, then, that to read Scripture outside of the Church's Tradition is to read it out of context - or, more accurately, without a teacher. And if most of us need help to understand human authors such as Dante or Shakespeare - and we do - then how much more do we need a teacher to explain Scripture? That teacher is the Church, and her method of instruction is Tradition. When we fail to seek her direction, we inevitably come up with fanciful and absurd interpretations. When, on the other hand, we allow Mother Church to guide us through Scripture, illuminating its pages by way of her teachings, the liturgy and the Church Fathers, then we better perceive what the Divine Author intends.