It is human nature to tell stories! Why else would thousands and thousands of people crowd into an auditorium to hear the late Stuart MacLean share his Vinyl Café stories? Frankly any of us can hear such stories on the internet, watch them from the comfort of our own homes on Netflix or listen to a podcast on satellite radio in our car. There is something about the live human voice sharing a reflection, a story, about characters we can identify with and giving us the arc of a narrative that we can replay in our minds over and over again. A great story is timeless and eternal.
Where do we tell stories about our lives, the lives of persons we knew and loved? Family gatherings and birthday parties are great venues for story-telling. And what are the stories in your family that have been told so often that everyone knows them by heart? Lucy has heard countless stories about my Mother and Father, my brothers, my eccentric relations, my growing up, Kim’s parents, Kim’s brother, Kim’s relations and Lucy’s name-sake, Kim’s Aunt Lucy who never married, lived in Montreal and smoked lots of cigarettes, dates lots of men and had the time of her life. Not many women of that time from small coastal communities in Newfoundland could tell that story!
Our lesson for today Psalm 78 was written to remind God’s people about God’s saving acts in history. Verse 1 says that all of us are to tell these saving stories to the next generation. God commanded our ancestors to teach their children, each generation passing the stories on to the next generation, from the time of Moses until our time, and we must pass them on to our children and our children’s children. So WHAT is it exactly that we are supposed to tell the next generation? One of the central stories about God we are asked to share with our children is how God rescued the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, the Exodus.
When I was studying theology at the Atlantic School of Theology our scripture study professors would share that there were two “meta-stories” to be found in the Bible, one story central to the people of Israel and one central to the early church. For Israel it was always the way God’s people felt led and protected and liberated in their journey from slavery to freedom. All other Old Testament stories spring from that story and experience. And for the early church it was the experience of the Risen Christ in the Eucharist, Communion, the Last Supper, when Jesus broke bread and shared wine and told his disciples that he was always in the midst of them when they gathered in community to share a meal.
I have seen these stories acted out in Christian community in a profound way and I tell these two stories to children and adults time and time again. I remember working at a downtown church in Toronto, a church that opened its door to other faith groups that needed space to tell their stories to future generations. One night I was in my office, just outside the Hall, and heard multiple generations of Jews gathered to share their sacred meal. They did it in the context of story-telling, specifically the stories of Passover and Exodus. As the leader told the stories she used examples and language so that young and old, those familiar with the Jewish story and those new to it, could understand and ask questions. It was then that I realized the challenge of the mainline churches, we need to share our stories of faith with generations to come. Frankly we need to share these stories for our own sake too, our faith can be tested and there is no better source of strength to tested faith than hearing stories of God’s saving acts, in the Bible, in the church, in our own lives.
The best story I can share about the sharing of a sacred meal in a faith community occurred several years ago in Tantallon just outside the church I was then serving. It was a spring night, we had invited all of the guests who had come to eat lunch with locals in Tantallon from the inner-city of Halifax. Over 50 people, half from the inner-city and half from Tantallon, jammed into the Freedom Renewal Centre downstairs in the church. It was a great meal and people mingled throughout the night. But the highlight came as dusk appeared. Three harp players set up outside the Centre in what was once a swamp, recently transformed into a contemplation path with benches. As the harpists played and we left our meal behind we heard the peepers begin to make their melody to the Lord. The combination of full bellies, great conversation and community building, wonderful harp music and Creation’s melody gave the evening a spiritual awakening I have never experienced before or since in a sacred meal. Jesus was certainly with us that night in the breaking of bread.
When you are considering what stories to share with the next generation, think about those stories you remember most easily, the ones that have impacted you the most. What are your favorite Bible stories? Which ones give you hope or encouragement? Which ones give you incentive to be a better person or to follow more closely in Jesus’ steps? And what faith stories, stories of what God has done in your life, would you want to share? If the church was part of that story include the faith community as well. Many of our most well-known stories are in the New Testament, stories about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Share the stories of God’s actions in other people’s lives, but don’t hesitate to share the stories of how God has worked in your lives too.
I leave you with this story. One family now in our church was church shopping. They went to several churches and chose Bethany for one reason, Gordon Lawley made them feel welcome. Being known, knowing that each Sunday someone at the church, God’s house, was going to know their name, know their story and want to catch up on their lives made all the difference. This story reflects in a profound way how the early church we experience in the Book of Acts absorbed and transformed people’s lives. Sometime later this same couple discovered a woman in our church was having difficulty finding transport to and from church. So this couple would pick her up and take her back home. They developed a relationship, they became family. When that same woman had health challenges this couple was there every step of the way to bring God’s love and care to her. The connection went like this, Gordon Lawley to Jim/Rhonda Musgrave to Gladys Collins. And it all started with God’s love.
I share that story because it is part of God’s saving acts in history, part of our faith stories here at Bethany. And there are so many more. Let’s tell our stories to the next generation, to our own generation, to anyone who will listen. These stories bring life and transform lives. Thanks be to God for a world where Christian people can share stories from our Bible, share stories from our history and share stories from our lives. The story continues…Amen.