Telling the Story - April 25

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 1, 2, 3; PM Psalm 4, 7, Exod. 14:21-31; 1 Pet. 1:1-12; John 14:(1-7)8-17

Yesterday, a group of young people in grades two through four gathered to learn about the Holy Eucharist, an old tradition as these children are moving to the age where they begin to participate in the full church service as opposed to leaving for children’s chapel.  We began by gathering around the table (altar) and looking at the connection between a meal and church.  We come together, we pray, we share, and we listen, just like many other meals and gatherings.   Parents ask children to tell stories about their weeks, and hopefully, the family stories of the past sometimes near and sometimes quite distant are shared. 

We then went back in time and told the story of the Israelites’ deliverance out of Egypt, specifically the story that is read this morning in the lectionary.  “What does the parting of the Red Sea have to do with our faith today?” was the question I kept wondering if it would be asked.  One parent hinted at the question as the young people left to work on an art project.  Another parent asked about the plagues and the story of the Passover that proceed this story. These stories seem so distant from our faith, events that happened thousands of years ago, and yet they are mentioned every time someone is baptized and alluded to in the Eucharist.  For people of the Jewish faith, this story is told every time people gather for a Passover Seder dinner, a central part of the faith.

Something happens the more we tell a story.  It becomes closer to our own faith.  In the retelling of a story, the story becomes more of our own story.  It’s why some stories are told more than others at the dinner table.  The more we read a story, the more we tell the story, the more we begin to see our very own lives in the story.  The more we hear and tell the story of the parting of the Red Sea, the more we come to know that God will be with us and lead us through the depths of human pain and life to the promise of something better. 

Why do we read these stories that seem so distant from anything that we have ever experienced?  Because when life becomes more than we imagine that it could be, when the weight of what are experiencing seems too much, a reminder that God has led his people through much worse becomes our hope, and our salvation.

So tell the story.  And tell it again, and may you come to see your own life as a part of God’s larger story. 

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  What stories do you tell over and over in your family?  How do those stories shape your own understanding of your family?  What stories do you not share?  What stories in the Bible are part of understanding your own story?

Daily Challenge:  Share with a friend or family member a story that is important to you.  Consider how you might tell the story and what details are important to you.  Consider why it is important to remember this story and how it shapes you too.