Mark 5:1-20
When we join the church, we vow to take on five ‘holy
habits,’ five practices that will strengthen both our own spiritual lives and
the life of our congregation: prayer, presence, giving, service, story.
If you’ve grown up in the United Methodist Church, you will
know that ‘story-telling’ is not in the liturgy of joining as found in the United
Methodist Hymnal (p.48). There, we find only the first four. So, why have I
(and others) added story? Telling ‘the Story’ (of Jesus) and telling our
stories of faith are part and parcel of the Christian faith; this is something
we have been expected to do from the beginning.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew
28:19). How do we “make disciples”? We tell the Story and we tell our stories
of faith. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on
you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). What do witnesses do?
They tell what they have seen, experienced. So, from the beginning, we who
follow Jesus, we who claim to be Christians, have been a story-telling people.
In that dramatic story from Mark 5, we see clearly that
Jesus wants us to tell our stories. After encountering the demoniac—the man
possessed of multiple demons, Jesus expels the demons, and the man is in his
right mind for the first time in years. In appreciation and gratitude, the man
wants to go with Jesus, to stay close to Jesus. But, Jesus says ‘no.’ Rather,
Jesus says to him, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the
Lord has done for you…” (Mark 5:19). Go home and tell your story.
When we read a little more closely in the New Testament, we
find that those who tell their stories tend to tell their own story—what
happened to them—and they tell their stories at the invitation of the listener.
That is, besides the story of Jesus, they don’t tell other people’s stories,
and they don’t rush in tell their story when no one wants to hear it. We would
do well to follow this pattern as well.
The good news is that people around us invite us to tell our
stories (or the Story) all the time. We just don’t recognize the invitation.
Few if any say, “Hey, tell me your story.” Instead, the invitation to tell our
stories sounds more like this: “I just don’t know what to do about this
situation…” or “Why do things like this happen…?” When people around us—family,
friends, co-workers, classmates, neighbors—earnestly say something like this,
they are inviting us to tell a story, to step into their pain, their questions,
their lives. These kinds of statements/questions reveal and invite us beneath the
surface of their lives. This becomes a chance for us to tell a story.
Our stories of faith may include Scripture passages that
have had a great impact on us in a difficult time. They may include songs,
prayers, Bible class discussions, readings, movies, and more. Whatever way God
spoke to us, helped us, guided us—these are the things we include in our
stories.
Our stories may or may not have a significant or immediate
impact on the listener. In my own experience, the culmination of many stories is
what impacted me. No single story usually moves me. Rather, the cumulative
power of stories over time has moved me closer to God, more deeply into the
life of faith. So, our story to one person on one occasion may have little to
no significant impact. But, it may be a seed that contributes to a future
harvest in that person’s life.
More importantly, like prayer, presence, giving, and
service, making story a part of our ‘holy habits’ does impact our lives.
Telling the Story and our stories moves this faith ‘thing’ from Sunday mornings
into our daily lives. And, as with all of these holy habits, we are changed.
Listen to those around you and learn to recognize those
quiet, subtle invitations to tell your stories. Then, tell a story from your
own life… “tell them how much the Lord has done for you.”
Sunday, October 20,
2024
“A Church Strong: Story”
Watch/Listen: HERE
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