The Word is, yes. But typists, NOPE!!!

Infallible, that is.
Why am I so tickled that I found a typo in my Bible???
Maybe I am deprived* of winning things. I felt a similar sensation when I was taking a walk and found the lost pink shoe of a neighbor's toddler. I do believe I started jogging towards it and then lifted it over my head like a trophy, while doing a happy dance and excitedly telling Sean, "I know whose this is! I know whose this is!!"
Really. WOOOHOOOO!! I won!!! As though I found a chocolate factory golden ticket.
But it's a shoe. (And it was right across the street. This really can't even be equated to an Easter egg hunt).
And a typo. (Which I found by accident-- I wasn't LOOKING for one).
And I get no prizes for this... What is wrong with me???

But I cannot deny that this has me all giddy, to the point that I really wanted to share it with everyone!

*Uh, deprived? People have a RIGHT to win things? Good grief, Jenny.

Want to see if your Bible has a chocolate factory ticket??? Hit Luke 8:16-18. My sections have little subtitles, under which are cross-references for the passage. Having grown up in a liturgical church that follows the 3 year lectionary cycle for readings, one of which always comes from the gospels (in which there is already a lot of overlap)-- gospel verses are about as unanalyzed in my mind as the alphabet. Some parts of the Bible are easy to read with fresh eyes, because I'm less familiar with them, but only in the last few years have I been trying to truly read the gospels as though I've never seen them before. Takes effort, because it's like questioning WHY "p" comes after "l-m-n-o." It just SOUNDS right. But in reality, some of Jesus' parables kind of cram altogether in ways that don't actually make immediate sense to me. They might sound as familiar as my own name-- but occasionally I find that I am skimming over vague passages simply because they are familiar, without actually making sure that I know what he's saying.

By now, you think I'm off on a tangent, but here's my point: When I catch myself not truly following his train of thought, it can help to find the same passage in a different gospel-- sometimes there are further clues. That's what I was trying to do, since this part seemed to skip around a bit, yet still be loaded with important stuff. And here's what you're waiting for-- the TYPO-- my cross reference said to go to Mt 4.21-25. !!!!!!!!!!! Pure nonsense!!!!!! They're WRONG!!!!! They meant Mk. 4.21-25!

They typed a t! They should have typed a k! Yes, fascinating!

(I'm beginning to realize this might sound a little anti-climactic).

If, however, you're as excited as I am-- there's a chance your Bible will have the same typo! So grab your red pen and see if you can't go make a little correction! It's really fun in a "playing God and editing the Holy Word" kind of way. :-) (Disclaimer: Um, that's a game I don't actually recommend playing. What with eternal damnation and all.)

P.S. For anyone wondering if my cross-referencing taught me anything beyond how arrogant I can be when I find a typo, the answer is no. Didn't help in that regard. The Luke one was more helpful because the first part of verse 18 in that gospel is translated as "Then pay attention to how you listen" (as opposed to Mark's "pay attention to what you hear.") The "how you listen" part intrigued me. I have always read the rest of verse 18 as referring to more tangible gifts, like wealth or abilities. And I've never really understood the logic or justice involved in reading verse 18 that way (because why if you already have a lot, do you get more? And people with little get less??). But the previous verses, with talking about not hiding the "light" and secrets coming to "light," would be referring to more nebulous things, like truth and understanding, through faith, through Jesus. So "how I've listened" has been as quite the materialistic, possession-oriented, first-world citizen. But perhaps he is continuing to talk about faith and knowledge of God, in which case, the rest of verse 18 does make logical sense to me.

Not that the Bible always has to make sense, and not that I have ANY theological training or even a good commentary to turn to. So this is wholly uninformed layman talk. Please keep that in mind if you actually engage in a mental [or real] discussion with all that.

P.P.S. I previously promised a funny photo from our San Antonio date. It is on it's way. But it was temporarily sidelined due to my jackpot experience this morning. Still giddy.