In fall 1992, when assigned to St. Anthony Parish in Oceanside, N.Y., I was asked to take over the parish's weekly Scripture-study group. I'd be stretching the truth if I said that the group was faltering and that I led it to new and higher plateaus of pe rception and success. Actually, I'd be telling a great big lie.

The group I inherited from Fr. Ed Kennedy, SJ, was vibrant, cohesive, and vital. Fr. Kennedy is tall, imposing, deep voiced, and is an excellent preacher. He ran the group from 1981 to 1992, experimenting with different formats, offering an overview o f the Bible in eight or so sessions, then a series on themes of the Bible, and still later a series on literary and historical biblical interpretation. "It was a joy to be with them," says Fr. Kennedy, now associate pastor at St. Michael's in the Bronx. "They form a community and are a wonderful support to one another--a great mix of backgrounds of people."

His was a tough act to follow, so I decided not to come in as some sort of expert. Rather, the group and I would try exploring the text together. My background as a reader, writer, and English major helped. I also decided to make liberal use of the ph rase "I don't know." The Talmud expresses that concept more elegantly: "Teach your tongue to say ÔI don't know' and you will progress."

Fr. Kennedy had settled on the format of following the Church's calendar of rotating readings, following the three-cycle calendar of Sunday readings, and he had brought the group through the cycle one and a half times. Since I've been with the group w e've gone the route of the calendar four times, more than one and a half cycles.

The format is simple: someone reads the selected passage while the others follow along, all using the New American Bible. The floor is then open to comments, which may include acceptance of the meaning, admiration for the beauty of a passage, or disag reement on the phraseology of the section. We may look at other versions of the Bible for other renditions of the passage.

Then the fireworks begin! Manny Giusto, a widower grandfather who reads to grade-school children, looks at an Old Testament passage in which God forgives a prophet because of his repentance but decides to continue punishing the prophet's children and grandchildren.

"It's not fair!" Manny bursts out. "What kind of God is that?" Then starts the discussion on God's relationship with people and whether it has changed.

Another time, Ed Hall, retired New York City fireman, reads the account of the exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 14:21). "Do you believe this stuff?" he asks. "Do you think it happened just like it's written?" Then we talk about the nature of faith and metaphors for faith and about theological narrative.

In our group, no question is out of bounds; freedom of inquiry is coupled with faith and with tolerance of others and what they say. John Milton once said, "Give liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to my conscience above all liber ties."

And members such as Ed keep us honest in our inquiry. What drew him to the group? "Serious doubts about my own faith got me here initially," Ed answers. "It was time to get some answers. The more we learn about something, the more we can make a decisi on. I keep hoping to find definitive answers: yeses or nos about some of the important questions, but I probably won't. There are times when everything makes perfect sense and I know why I'm a Catholic, and then three months later I'm listening to people around me at the community college or I'm swayed by what I'm reading, and I say, What if? The fellowship is nice, but I really come to learn more about the Church and to come to decisions."

Some come for liturgical reasons. "It makes Sunday's liturgy very relevant to our daily lives and more understandable," says Eleanor Fischer. Her husband, Jack, adds, "It's a diverse group with which to reflect on God's word. You read it and discuss i t and then you are aware of what God is saying in your everyday life--it's very reassuring from a faith perspective."

"I like it because it's very good meat that you don't get at mass or in prayer," says Pat Collins. "You hear the Gospel at mass but you don't have time to wonder what it means. I like the tying in of the Old and New Testament readings. It gives me the background."

Mary Troland notes that the class "opens a peaceful, prayerful space in our hectic week for us to consider the upcoming Sunday's readings. Discussion centers not so much on technical analysis of the readings as on their application to our own life exp eriences. And in that respect everyone brings something unique to the class."

A variety of guest speakers also offers a quality of uniqueness and keeps the format fresh: Nicholas Daddona, Byzantine-rite deacon from Westbury, Long Island, spoke to the group about the differences between Eastern and Western history, spirituality, and liturgy. Merle Cittadino, a Messianic Jew who believes in both testaments of the Bible, spoke about her Jewish heritage and how Jesus is Messiah for her. Rev. John Odom, a Presbyterian minister, talked about his religious heritage, and Rabbi Phil Ber ger of Oceanside spoke about Jewish belief in the afterlife. We've watched films, including one on the life of John the Evangelist. Some members of the group who have traveled to the Holy Land have spoken about their journeys there.

Remember the story about the Jesuit who, when asked about a particular subject, said he knew nothing about it since he hadn't yet taught it? That story runs through my mind frequently as I prepare for the weekly meetings. That preparation lets me imme rse myself in the readings before preaching about them. St. Paul wrote, "God's word is alive and active and sharper than a two-edged sword. It cuts into us where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones" (Heb. 4:12). The f amous Jesuit preacher Fr. Walter Burghardt writes that we must combine intense study with a deepening of experience and reflection on it: "If I am to touch God's living word to a living people, I have to hear that word with my own ears, see the risen Chri st with my own eyes, experience for myself the Lord God and the loving work of His hands."

Our Scripture-study group is interesting for the participants, especially for me, a preacher, who gets to tune in to their experiences of the living God, as their experiences meet Christ's and presence meets presence over a text.

It's like breaking bread around a table.

Fr. Matt Roche, SJ, associate pastor at St. Anthony's in Oceanside, is a frequent contributor to Company.