Sharing Our Stories - June 10, 2024

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 56, 57, [58]; PM Psalm 64, 65 Eccles. 7:1-14; Gal. 4:12-20; Matt. 15:21-28

This past week I ran across a book that I hadn’t thought about in a long while. Frederick Buechner was an author, teacher, and theologian that the world lost on August 15, 2022. He was someone I discovered so early in my discernment process that I wasn’t even aware that I was in discernment. All I knew was that I was hungry for something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I haven’t read all his books, but I have read enough to know I could never pick a favorite. He had a way with words that was so disarming, so down to earth, so enchantingly simple that they continue to reveal truths to me in ways that I have never quite experienced with any other author.

One of Buechner’s greatest gifts was story telling. As any author will tell you no matter what the subject matter if you can’t capture the imagination of your readers your message stands little hope of making the connection you intended. I believe that the same holds true for the Bible. The power of the scriptures is to transcend our human condition and transport us to a truth we may not hear or understand any other way. The stories of the Old and New Testament are the continuing narrative of God’s love for God’s creation and for all of humanity; they tell the story of the length God will go to ensure we know we are loved.

In The Remarkable Ordinary, How to Stop, Look and Listen to Life, Buechner asserts that stories are basic to our faith, not just the stories we’ve heard but the stories of our lives. “It is through our stories that God speaks to us and gives us the sense that we have a plot.” (p.59). In other words, our lives aren’t just one event leading into another, but that the details of our lives, the interactions we have, they are what give our lives meaning and purpose. This is a powerful truth. If we believe God is present in the day to day of our lives, then we must acknowledge that our lives aren’t just accidental occurrences, but that the decisions we make are somehow shaped by the quiet still voice that comes from our hearts, informing our truths.

In the gospel for today, Jesus encounters the Canaanite woman. She begs him to show mercy on her daughter. At first Jesus replies with indifference. His ministry wasn’t for the Gentiles it was for the Jews, however, her story, her truth that she so bravely proclaims, creates a cause and effect that means everything not only to her but to the impact of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus’ eyes are opened to the reality that his ministry is not only for God’s chosen people but for all of God’s children, including the Gentiles. By sharing her story, she accomplished something quite amazing. Women never spoke to men who weren’t family members. Much less Jews. And when she spoke, Jesus listened.

Her open-hearted manner of speaking to Jesus was a witness not only to her desperate personal need but also to a deeper truth, a truth that transcends all conventional barriers. Her truth was one of a need for acceptance and grace for all. Stories can be the connection that brings us together with those we may have once thought were very different. Evangelism, the scary “E” word, is just that, it is simply sharing our story and finding that connector that underlies all our stories. That common factor that each human has with another, the need for love, for grace and acceptance. As we settle into the summer months, think about the person sitting next to you in church, at an appointment, or in the cubical next to you at work. What might their story be, how could yours be a witness to them of a truth that connects you both to God?

Faithfully,

Sally+

Questions for Self-Reflection: Sharing our stories is such an accessible means to get to know someone. How often have we had the opportunity to share a truth, possibly a difficult truth for the other to hear, or difficult for us to share? How often do we miss these chances to open someone else’s eyes to a glimpse of God?  For us to see a glimpse of God in the “other.” Try it out. You might just be amazed at how much you have in common.