When Words Become Stories

One of the problems people of faith face is how to convey what faith is. While scientists have a whole method or mathematicians have lots of formulas, the grounding of faith is words. Or more specific, the Word or scripture. Over time pastors have spilled lots of ink into sermons and newsletter articles and now blogs to try to capture and cultivate faith. Here is the problem. Words are intellectual by their nature. You are reading these words on your computer screen and it engages the part of your brain that likes to think. You begin to think about whether what you are reading makes sense, where I am being unclear, or where my words fall short or even fail.

For many, many years (beginning with the Enlightenment) pastors thought if we could just come up with the right combination of words it would unlock the right synapse in people's brains and everyone would believe. In short, for far too long, pastors tried to prove faith.
As my son likes to say...there is one small problem with that.

You can't prove faith.

You can experience a sensation in your gut that says there is something going on here that is bigger or deeper than what you can explain.

You can experience goose bumps on your arms or the tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

You can experience the hug of a fellow disciple on the Way that reassures you.

To be honest, that doesn't really prove faith. It does not prove that God exists. It does not prove anything...other than you had a meaningful, life giving, life changing experience.

In the end, that is what faith is...a meaningful, life giving and life changing experience. It is something that happens to you that forever, profoundly shapes how you understand and tell your story about who you are.

Here is my invitation. For one week listen to how people tell stories. In the stories you hear from your co-work, is he always the hero who swoops in at the last second like Mighty Mouse ("Here I come to save the day!")? How about that person you volunteer beside. Is she always the one who makes the mistake?

Then, if you really want a challenge, listen to how you tell stories about yourself.

I am prone to always be the bumbling person...even though in truth I work very, very hard to NOT make mistakes. What does that say that the stories I tell about myself tend to be self-effacing?

But what, the logical part of your brain interrupts, does all this have to do with faith? GREAT question. I think that at the most basic level faith is experienced and shared and conveyed through story. In a few weeks, we are going to be studying the book of Exodus, which is the quintessential story. It has everything. Drama, love, death, grumbling, wandering, miracles. No wonder The Ten Commandments made a great movie.

When we stop trying to play by the world's rules that things have to be logical and rational and always make sense, I think we open the door for the church to be the church. Life is not logical and rational and doesn't always make sense. Life is sometimes joyful like ice cream on a summer evening. Life is sometimes difficult like when you lose your job. or a person you love dies And the way we live life is through stories. So, listen this week to the stories you hear. Not just on the news or in novels, but from those who brush up against in your life.

And you may just notice traces of grace in the stories you hear and share.

Blessings and peace