Stories

Newsletter article, 21 January 2009

There is definitely excitement in the air following Tuesday's inaugural celebrations. Millions of people descended on Washington D.C. to be part of the history while millions upon millions more of us watched or listened over the radio, television, or internet.

There was a very human moment, in the midst of all the pomp and ceremony when, during the swearing of the oath of office, there was a mix up of the words between Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts and President Obama. It was nothing major but I heard on the radio that the oath swearing was repeated later on to make sure they got it right; there was no leaving of anything to chance. I also heard that this had happened in the past; a second swearing in ceremony had to take place because the words weren't repeated exactly as they are laid down in the U.S. Constitution.

This mindset, strict adherence to an exacting way of looking at things, has all too often been brought into our faith world as Christians make the Bible a rule book with a precision that severs out those who don't agree with a particular telling of the Story. At the retreat last weekend, we talked about the richness of reading the Bible with Story in mind. Stories are not exacting or demanding. They allow flow and changes and even contradictions to be coexist within them. Stories do not deny rules and often contain them. But Story recognizes that words and images are heard differently by different people.

Stories, our stories, come from all parts of our lives: from the excitement and awe that welled up within us as our nation's 44th president stood before all those millions of people to the very personal tales of how our faith has held us and enriched us. Tell a story; make sure your story is told; listen to others' stories. Know that God resides within them.

Pace e Bene,
Gerry