Once upon a time…I would start my stories.
Tell us another Pesty story. I would make these stories up. The character was wacky and wild. She was my alternative self. The brave and crazy girl I wish I could be. My sister and brother were captivated. I learned the wonder of those magical works, “Once upon a time…”
I have always treasured a story. Then it was neighborhood plays. Dramas at school. Early on, as a followed Jesus, I began to wonder if I could make a difference for God as a storyteller.
Fredrick Buechner. My favorite author. His books awakened me to the high calling of telling the Redemption Story. My favorite book by him, Telling the Truth, the Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairytale. this book has given me my framework.
It is possible to thin of the gospel and our preaching of it as, above all and at no matter what risk, a speaking of the truth about the way things are And it is possible to think of it as a tragedy, a comedy, and a fairy tale.
The gospel is bad news before it is good news. We are sinners and we are broken. Tragedy.
It is also the news he is loved anyway, cherished, and forgiven. Good news.
So, what if even in his in the slob and loved and forgiven
The news of the Gospel is that extraordinary things happen to him just as in fairy tales.
The stories we tell from the pulpit need to be grounded in both tragedy and comedy. Suffering and Redemption, Joy and Pain, Life and Death…two sides of the same coin.
When Matthew tried to explain the way Jesus taught, he quote Psalm 78, “He spoke in stories.”
Are we being truthful as we steward this treasure we call The Gospel?
Do tell tragedy, comedy, and fairy tale?
Do we avoid the tragedy because of the discomfort it creates in us? If we don’t speak the truth of tragedy, our offerings of grace come across as premature, naive, out of touch, and not nearly as wonderful.
We all respond to “once upon a time.” No matter how dark human history gets, people still tell fairy tales where it begins…once upon a time. With those words come the hope of breakthrough in the darkness. The mark of a good fairy tale is that turn, the catching of the breathe.
You wake up on a winter morning, what you looked at last night is gone. The old gray grass, the old lawn furniture, the kids toys in the yard, etc are all gone. Now it is the first snow and it glistens with beauty. It is snow that can awaken memories of things more wonderful than you have ever known or seen.
How do I acknowledge the darkness and then introduce the light against that backdrop?
Nancy Beach gave 12 minutes of her talk to Bob’s daughter, Holli Laurent, who shared a story she had written that will be the center of Willow’s Christmas celebration this year.
The very best stories awaken our Faith in God and remind us that we are not alone.
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"So, what if even in his in the slob and loved and forgiven"
Posted by: FreedbyJC | October 29, 2009 at 09:15 AM