The Value of a Good Story
(Posted February 12, 2025)
Let me ask you a question. Do you remember the first storybook from which your parents read to you as a little child? Depending on your age, I would expect the response to be anything from Dick and Jane to Goodnight Moon.
And what would these stories have in common with one another? Well, most likely the main characters seemed familiar to the pint-sized you that was reading it. And most often there was a something that happened that might have been surprising, either in a good way or a not-so-good way. But by the end of the story, everything had been resolved and a lesson had been learned.
Now that, in a nutshell, is the essence of that biggest book of stories, The Bible. It’s especially true for the parables that Jesus used to educate the people who would be his followers about what was expected of them.
The Secret to a Good Story
A good story is capable of permanently embedding a lesson in our hearts in a pleasing way. The story itself becomes a pathway on which to feel closer to God. It could be said, storytelling is another Thin Place where we can reach and touch God. Our message for this Sunday is: A Really Rich Story: You Had to Be There.
Who Is Rich? (Trick Question)
Let me ask you some other questions. Have you ever met somebody who’s not wealthy, but who is definitely rich by your standards? Conversely, have you ever met a very wealthy someone who whose life was not made rich in any way? I know I have.
This Sunday I’ll be telling the true life stories of some fascinating people I have known: some of them very rich but poor, and some of them very wealthy but sadly lacking the most important riches.
A Contradictory Story
This Sunday in Luke’s storytelling, Jesus gathers a huge group of followers in a field and sets the stage for his teaching by telling them: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man… But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry….”
How can these contradictions be true? Come this Sunday and find out how the stories end.