The simplicity of story

“I am just a poor boy and my story's seldom told
I've squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises
All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest”

-Simon and Garfunkel

Everyone has a story. Like books on a shelf, each one’s story may be interesting reading to some while others may have difficulty in relating to the narrative of another’s life. All of us have experienced drama, tragedy, and comedy, and without doubt, some may feel his/her life has played out like a documentary: complete with re-enactments and voiceover. However, in reflection, what is life--other than “story?”
“Story doesn’t just tell us something and leave it there; story invites our participation. A good storyteller gathers us into the story. We feel the emotions, get caught up in the drama, identify with the characters, see into nooks and crannies of life that we had overlooked, realize there is more to this business of being human than we had yet explored. If the storyteller is good, doors and windows open.” (Eugene Peterson) How do we begin to connect with another person? We ‘get to know them.’ We share our story. They hear ours. Sometimes, intentionally or otherwise, we find our lives intersecting and joining another’s. Often these parallel courses will last only for a single chapter. On other occasions, our stories merge, and we find, years later, that our story is no longer ours alone. It’s now part of a bigger tale, and suddenly our eyes become opened to a developing plot-line of which we had never dreamed.
In my lifetime, I’ve heard and read many arguments concerning the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible. Who wrote it and when? Is it all true or only partially? Is it: merely a good read or truly the guide for “holy living” as some proclaim? Even those who read it with regularity struggle with questions of the Bible’s relevance in today’s world when its settings are thousands of years old and when the existence of the main character is a continuing hot topic of debate. However you view the Bible, without question, it’s a good story, and few would argue that, historically, people, across culture and throughout time, have always enjoyed a good story. We relate to, and with, story. “Telling a story is the primary . . . way of accounting for life the way we live it. And so when we lose touch with our lives, our souls – story is the best way of getting us back in touch again.” (Peterson)
In this ‘information age,’ the trap of disconnectedness looms large. In antiquity, stories were the only means of transferring significant information to the passing generations. Our present and ever-developing technology has served us in staying up-to-the-minute, but in what? Stock readings and sports scores? Current events? Our over-committed schedules? The latest celebrity gossip? We’ve been sucked in. “We live in an age when story has been pushed from its . . . front-line prominence to a bench on the sidelines . . . Both inside and outside the church, we prefer information over story. But we don’t live our lives by information. We live them in relationships.” (Peterson) Good stories compel us to action and participation, or, at the very least---serious reflection and contemplation. Entertainment wears off; conviction lasts.
Maybe people refuse the Bible out of fear or ignorance. Maybe some miss its relevance and confuse its purpose. Others may simply not ‘have the time.’ Whatever the case for you, stop and look again. “The Bible’s honest stories respect our freedom; they don’t manipulate us, don’t force us, don’t distract us from life. They show us a spacious world in which God creates and saves and blesses. They invite us in as participants in something larger, in something truer. We enter these stories and recognize ourselves as participants, whether willing or unwilling, in the life of God.” (“Living into God’s Story” by Eugene Peterson) We are participants not only in our own life story but also in the life of at least two other people. We are each adding to our story every day. How do you fit into and relate with the stories of other people? How do we begin to understand life? How can we have any hope of knowing someone and being known ourselves? Story. We in the Church have complicated the presentation and representation of God’s story. We’ve made the Bible out to be more mysterious than intended. “Spiritual theology does not so much present us with a moral code and tell us, ‘Live up to this,’ nor does it set out a system of doctrine and say, ‘Think like this.’ The biblical way is to tell a story and invite us, ‘Live into this—this is what it looks like to be human in this God-made and God-ruled world; this is what is involved in becoming and maturing as a human being. We don’t fit into prefabricated moral and mental or religious boxes before we are admitted into the company of God. We are taken seriously just as we are and given place in his story—for it is, after all, God’s story. None of us is the leading character in the story of our lives. God is the larger context and plot in which all our stories find themselves.”
So, what’s your story?