"Start with a Story"

A sermon preached by Tully Fletcher at Westminster Pres. Church on June 10, 2007

Scripture Lessons:  Psalm 146:1-10

                            Galatians 1:13-24

When you take a preaching class at seminary you realize just how much the field of homiletics is in disarray.  First of all, the preacherly scholars feel the need to take a simple idea like preaching and give it a fancy name like homiletics.  It use to be they taught you how do a simple 3 point sermon, and that was was the big theory on preaching.  I’m sure when Paul and Jack went to seminary that is what they were taught.  But today, the scholars feel the need to complicate the issue beyond all belief.  We talk about things like focus and function statements.  We talk about what a sermon does… and the whole time I’m thinking a sermon is a few pieces of paper… the only thing it really does is lay there.  and of course, we talk about reading the texts, understanding them, interpreting them, doing exegeses, even dislocated exegeses.  It is all pretty confusing stuff.  And after a few weeks of class the professors give you a text and tell you to preach.  Which leaves all of us students looking back at them like, "Huh?" 

"What do we do?"

"Where do we start?"

And then one of the more practical minded teachers says, “start with a story.”  An anecdote of some kind.  Something to get the congregation's attention.  Maybe a story that is funny, or has some parabolic meaning that you can later tie back in to the text to finish your sermon with. 

And of course the teacher gives you this advice like it was some brand new concept that they just conjured up to save the day.  Well the truth is that the idea of starting with a story is not new at all.  It is a very old technique.  One that Paul used.  And I’m referring to an even older Paul than this one. 

Paul the apostle when he began his letter to the Galatians opened with the typical introduction for a letter in that time, I, Paul, write to you, the churches of Galatia, for this reason… and so on.  It is the equivalent of today writing an email that begins “dear mom… please send money.” 

But after the introduction Paul begins to briefly tell his own story, and these are the verses that were read earlier from Galatians.  Paul reminds the churches that he formerly persecuted Christians, but then God called him and converted him, a reference to the Damascus Road episode.  Paul goes on to tell of some of his travels to Arabia, Syria, Cilicia, and Jerusalem.  And Paul also name-drops a few of his friends, Cephas and James. 

Now why would Paul begin his letter this way, by telling his own story?  Was it some kind of code to let the readers know it was truly Paul writing to them?  Was he telling them these things to show his authority and give them a reason to listen to his words?  Or was he telling them his own call story because he knew it would resonate with them in their faith struggles?  Maybe it was all of these reasons and more.  I think it was because Paul understood the importance and significance of story to our faith. 

Story is a fundamental aspect of our culture, our psyche, and our religious experience.  In our culture we learn stories as a little kid from before a time when we can understand them.  The idea of story is ingrained in our culture and life in so many subtle ways that we don’t realize it. 

When families and friends get together for fellowship not only are we making new stories, but we are also sharing stories.  Nearly every form of entertainment we have is some how related to story.  The most obvious is the Novel.  Each year 10’s of 1000’s of books are published and millions are read, each one just another story.  Movies and TV shows are nothing more than stories told in a visual format.  And the greatest of sports games usually involves two teams clashing together each with a significant and very important back story. 

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In our psyche we communicate and remember in stories.  You ask any person about an important event in their life and they will tell you the story of that event.  When we return from a vacation or a wedding, we like to look back over the pictures from that time, not because they are pretty to look at, but because each picture reminds us of the time and the story that the picture embodies.  Maybe you don’t use pictures as the carrier of your story.  Maybe you have a souvenir collection, a refrigerator magnet, or a coffee mug from each destination you’ve been to.  And then, when you see that item you are reminded of the story. 

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Story is also the primary method by which we practice and remember our faith.  The Bible, this book, is not mainly a collection of wise sayings and teachings.  Proverbs is, but that is just one part.  This book is not a how-to-guide, giving detailed instructions for each situation.  The Torah, which means "the Law" in Hebrew, is not just a list of laws, rules, or regulations.  But rather this book, these scriptures, are a collection of stories.  Stories to be read, and heard, and interpreted.  Stories are easier to remember than wise sayings or laws to be followed.  But better yet wise sayings are easier to remember if they have a story to go with them. 

Take for example the 10 commandments.  Raise your hand if…

            Who knows of the 10 commandments? 

            Who can remember and recite all 10 of them?

            But who can tell me the story of how God gave the 10 commandments to the Hebrew people?

Moses leading the Israelites through the wilderness, to Mount Sinai, and there were two stone tablets, and maybe a Golden calf.  We all know the story, at least the gist of it. 

The majority of the Bible, is story.  Abraham’s obedience to God is displayed through story.  The might of God is shown to us by the story of Joshua’s campaign into Canaan.  God’s tireless patience and forgiveness is recounted in the stories of the judges and the prophets; human failure and triumph in the books of Samuel and Kings. 

It is easy to see how important story is to Christianity.  So important that we required four versions, four Gospels, of the story centered around the life and death of Christ. 

And so in the letter to Galatia Paul continues this tradition of story-telling, and recounts his own story.  This reminds the Galatians that they are a part of the story too.  Likewise we are part of the story. 

I think Paul would want us to read his letter about freedom, and what it means to be a Christian, and write ourselves into the story.  That is how we understand it.  we have to imagine what it would be like if we were the Galatians, or the Corinthians, or the Romans.  What if Paul was writing to us, what would he say. 

What would the epistle to the Durham-ites have to say?

I think Children are better at this imaging than adults are.  Children easily write themselves into a story.  They see a movie and then imagine themselves as one of the characters of that story.  They play with the toys, and the action figures, and they act out their favorite part.  They put themselves into the story.  They go home and pretend to be the pirate, Jack Sparrow. 

We, as adults, don’t do this in the same way.  We don’t watch a TV show and then imagine ourselves into the story.  We don’t watch 24, and then go out to pretend we are Jack Bower stopping terrorists. 

Our internalization of the story happens subconsciously, if at all.  We read a book, or watch a program and experience emotions along with the characters of the story, but when the story ends, so does our place in it. 

We are much less likely than children to carry a story with us.  We don’t find meaning in stories the same way they do.  Kids hear a story, and they instantly know who is the bad guy and who is the good guy.  They can see the difference between good and evil very clearly.  Adult stories are more complicated.  Good and evil are not so obviously different. 

I also think, because of this, we have gotten out of touch with our own story.  We go through life day by day, get up take, the kids to school, go to work, come home day after day.  But we don’t really think about out own story very often. 

We know our story.  We’ve heard it.  We've lived it.  We were there.  Now, does that mean we don’t need to hear it again?  Does that mean the story shouldn’t be told.  NO!

Paul says in verse 13, "you have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life… "

Paul tells us that even though we have heard the story we need to hear it again.  We all know the story of Jesus' birth, but every Christmas we flock though these church doors to hear the story again. 

Why do we do this?  We do it to find meaning.  The story of Paul’s life is the story of redemption and forgiveness.  Paul persecuted the Christians.  He was their number one enemy.  He was violent towards them.  But God called him, and changed him, and forgave him.  And then God turned him around, and sent him in the opposite direction.

Verse ²³ says, "The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy."   ²⁴ And they glorified God because of [Paul]. 

What does that story mean?  How do we interpret it, and how do we understand it?  How do we apply it to our own lives? 

These are the questions we must ask, and we must answer.  But to apply Paul’s story, or Jesus’ story, to our lives we need to know our own story.  But, we don’t.  We have lost touch with our own story. 

If we had to write an auto-biography most of us wouldn’t know where to begin.  We don’t know the significance our own story.  We don’t find meaning in it.  but our story is important.  Our story is just as much who we are as flesh and bone, and when our bodies die, we still exist in and through our story. 

I think another reason we have lost touch with our story is because we don’t listen to the stories of others.  Look at the person next to you, seriously look.  And if it is someone in your family look to the next person.  Look.  What is their story?  And do they know your story?

We need to get in touch with our stories.  And not just our individual stories, but our family stories, our communities stories.  Our neighbor’s story.  Our congregational story.  And most importantly of all, we need to know and understand God’s story.  At least as best as we can. 

Today, the session of our church, a group of men and women each with their own stories but who also have a collective story, one that intertwines with every elder, deacon, and member of this church.  Today the Session has asked you to turn in your nominations for the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC).  And as you do so, think about the fact that the PNC will be the ambassadors of Westminster’s story to share with the various ministers they meet.  They will be the protectors, and the keepers of that story as we prepare to write a new chapter. 

They will also be the interpreters of that story. 

So I urge you to think about your story, and how it relates to your family, how it sustains your church, and how it reflects God in your life. 

So what is your story?

What is our story?

What is God’s story?

Amen!!