Story Telling 101

Storytelling is not confined just to the library for children. Small towns and close-knit communities have a treasure chest of stories that get better in the retelling. We live on stories. Our spiritual roots are grounded in the rich soil of story. From the Ten Commandments to Noah’s Ark to feeding five thousand, these and many more are never returned and forgotten gifts.

Certainly, apologetics and exegesis are instructive paths to a scriptural understanding, but story captures the imagination so needed to enliven faith. Hence, parable.

Parables remain just a story but only become meaningful when we make a connection between story and thoughtful living. Meaning is abstracted from the ordinary if we are in the habit of purposeful thinking.

Thus, we extrapolate from the story of the Sower: give the plant what it needs, but if there are few roots, the plant will wither. We get the message in a Christian context, but a question remains.

Why didn’t the Apostles understand the meaning of the story? In other accounts, they saw Jesus perform miracles that can only be attributed to God’s intervention. The old adage ‘seeing is believing’ applies, but when listening to what Jesus had to say, the message muddled their minds. Even Jesus asked them if they understood.

Seeing is believing; hearing and listening is another matter. The story has an emotional, imaginative connection that brings the message to our souls. We just have to listen.

The story of Father Eymard hearing Jesus in the Tabernacle gives us a model to build on. Listening to Jesus. Enter the story. Be amazed.

Prayer

Dear Lord, we come to you to be nourished. May your words take root in us, and the branches bear fruit.