The Stories That Define Us
We all have stories that define who we are, where we think we have been, where we are, and where we believe we are going. We have them as a nation. Our stories about our country’s wars, our country’s values, our country’s foundations, all define who we are and how we act as a nation. Our stories of our denominations define our religious point of view. Our stories of ourselves define who we are and what we think about ourselves and others. Since our lives are lived in the forward progression of time, we create stories in our living. We have funny stories, tragic stories, stories of wrongs done us and wrongs we may have done. The question is, are these stories accurate reflections of the truth of our lives, and how to they relate to the larger story of our faith.
The Church year tells the story of Jesus, who is the Lord and Savior of the world. We are about to begin the Lenten season again. This season can seem somewhat dark as it ends in seeming tragedy, then suddenly we find Christ is raised. Shouldn’t we just ignore the dark part of the story and go straight to the happy joy of the empty tomb? Why the journey of the cross? Well it is part of the story. It reminds us that we are people whose life stories do not always live up to the call of God in Christ. We have heard that call and been saved by God’s grace. We know sin is part of our story, but God’s work in us raising us from death to life is the ultimate story of faith. Therefore we can look at the story of how we have lived and acknowledge that our story includes those elements of our lives that were less than our call as Christians. We can repent and turn back to God and prepare to be renewed. The Lenten season is not some kind of sadistic season in which we grovel before a tyrant God. It is a joining of our story to the story of Christ who loved us, gave himself for us, and made new life possible in the ultimate renewal of his resurrection. How does your story compare to the story of Christ?
None of us can live his perfect and sinless life. That is the point of this penitential season. However, we can look to him, turn back to him, and bring the stories of our lives more into alignment with the call he has made to us. Lent is a time of turning back to Christ, of giving ourselves to him in love and service, because he gave himself to us. It is a time to remember that our lives are short and, for our own sakes and the work of God’s Kingdom we are called to renewal. Let Lent be a time of reflection about how the story of your life ties in to the grand story of redemption God is working the world. You are a part of that. We are not condemned, but loved beyond measure. Repentance in its root meaning in Hebrew is “to turn back”. Let us turn again to him, that his story may be ours, that his life in us may renew us and the world around us. We then will find our stories merging with other Christians and with Christ’s own story as we become his instruments of love in the world.
We all have stories that define who we are, where we think we have been, where we are, and where we believe we are going. We have them as a nation. Our stories about our country’s wars, our country’s values, our country’s foundations, all define who we are and how we act as a nation. Our stories of our denominations define our religious point of view. Our stories of ourselves define who we are and what we think about ourselves and others. Since our lives are lived in the forward progression of time, we create stories in our living. We have funny stories, tragic stories, stories of wrongs done us and wrongs we may have done. The question is, are these stories accurate reflections of the truth of our lives, and how to they relate to the larger story of our faith.
The Church year tells the story of Jesus, who is the Lord and Savior of the world. We are about to begin the Lenten season again. This season can seem somewhat dark as it ends in seeming tragedy, then suddenly we find Christ is raised. Shouldn’t we just ignore the dark part of the story and go straight to the happy joy of the empty tomb? Why the journey of the cross? Well it is part of the story. It reminds us that we are people whose life stories do not always live up to the call of God in Christ. We have heard that call and been saved by God’s grace. We know sin is part of our story, but God’s work in us raising us from death to life is the ultimate story of faith. Therefore we can look at the story of how we have lived and acknowledge that our story includes those elements of our lives that were less than our call as Christians. We can repent and turn back to God and prepare to be renewed. The Lenten season is not some kind of sadistic season in which we grovel before a tyrant God. It is a joining of our story to the story of Christ who loved us, gave himself for us, and made new life possible in the ultimate renewal of his resurrection. How does your story compare to the story of Christ?
None of us can live his perfect and sinless life. That is the point of this penitential season. However, we can look to him, turn back to him, and bring the stories of our lives more into alignment with the call he has made to us. Lent is a time of turning back to Christ, of giving ourselves to him in love and service, because he gave himself to us. It is a time to remember that our lives are short and, for our own sakes and the work of God’s Kingdom we are called to renewal. Let Lent be a time of reflection about how the story of your life ties in to the grand story of redemption God is working the world. You are a part of that. We are not condemned, but loved beyond measure. Repentance in its root meaning in Hebrew is “to turn back”. Let us turn again to him, that his story may be ours, that his life in us may renew us and the world around us. We then will find our stories merging with other Christians and with Christ’s own story as we become his instruments of love in the world.
posted by Theoblogger at
4:15 PM
