Time was whenever Scripture (and everything else) was read it was read aloud. Think of the Ethiopian eunuch reading in his chariot, and Philip heard him. Simon Camilleri, a graphic designer and book author from the northern suburbs of Melbourne, has become a one-man campaigner for reading the Bible aloud. His epic reading of the whole of John’s gospel will tour next month:
• SYDNEY St Andrew’s Cathedral 7th September 3:30-6:30 pm
• MELBOURNE St Jude’s Carlton 14th September 2:00 pm
• BRISBANE Anne St Presbyterian 28th September 2:30 pm
The Other Cheek asked Sandy Grant, the Dean (Senior Minister) of St Andrews, why he booked Camilleri. “It will be demanding to listen for 2.5 hours – with an interval! But I think it will be deeply educative. And moving, Grant said. It also neatly fits with other gospel events. “There’s a Meet Jesus mission effort inspired by AFES, which is focused on using John, and I thought that the Cathedral was wonderfully and centrally placed for such a significant public testimony.”
“We are preaching evangelistically from episodes in John where people met Jesus for the first four Sundays in September.”
So why did Simon Camilleri become a wandering public Bible reader? He explained, “Around 2002, I was thinking about how I could possibly write a play inspired by the gospel account.
“It was then I heard about this American man, Max McLean, who had committed to memory the entire gospel of Mark and was performing it with just himself, a chair and an empty stage. I raced to my Bible and opened it up to Mark’s gospel and started to read – this time, not simply as inspiration for a creative play that I was write, but as the finished work of art itself.
“It was mindblowing! I suddenly saw all the drama and emotion and passion that was right there on the page. I didn’t need to bring the Bible to life – it was already the Living and Active word of God! In that moment, my love of public Bible reading was born and I have never read the Bible the same way since.”
Touring an epic reading of John is something close to Camilleri’s heart because this particular Bible book was the way into his faith. “Back in my teens, when I was exploring Christianity and thinking about the meaning of life, I gravitated to the big poetic language of John’s gospel. I had been raised as a Catholic, and during this time, God had brought into my life a lovely Pentecostal family who talked about their experience of God and the importance of being ‘born again.’
“That was how the invitation of the gospel was described to me, but it was language I was unfamiliar with. When I discovered the phrase ‘born again’ in John chapter 3, I distinctly remember thinking, ‘I don’t understand all this, but I know that I will find my answers in this chapter.’
“So I read the story of Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus with an open heart and a desire to meet Jesus. I read it and re-read it and continued reading beyond it. God used John’s gospel account, along with the loving witness of these Christians, as well as the bits and pieces of the Gospel that I had learned growing up, to bring it all together and draw me to see and trust in the Gospel.
“Ever since, John’s gospel has been my favourite of the four accounts and I’m so looking forward to sharing with people. Especially those who might be in the same place I was 30 years ago – exploring Christianity and thinking about the meaning of life.”
Image: Simon Camillieri reads aloud.
Camilleri lists his epic readings at https://www.publicbiblereading.com/epic-readings/ He also trains people in reading the Bible to others, and you can find out more at https://www.publicbiblereading.com