Story

 

"IT IS WELL TO REMEMBER what the ancient creeds of the Christian faith declare credence in.

 

"God of God, Light of Light... for us and for our salvation came down from heaven... born of the Virgin Mary... suffered ... crucified... dead... buried... rose again... sitteth on the right hand of God... shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead." That is not a theological idea or a religious system. It is a series of largely flesh-and-blood events that happened, are happening, will happen in time and space. For better or worse, it is a story.

 

It is well to remember because it keeps our eyes on the central fact that the Christian faith always has to do with flesh and blood, time and space, more specifically with your flesh and blood and mine, with the time and space that day by day we are all of us involved with, stub our toes on, flounder around in trying to look as if we have good sense. In other words, the truth that Christianity claims to be true is ultimately to be found, if it's to be found at all, not in the Bible, or the church, or theology—the best they can do is point to the truth—but in our own stories.

 

If the God you believe in as an idea doesn't start showing up in what happens to you in your own life, you have as much cause for concern as if the God you don't believe in as an idea does start showing up.

 

It is absolutely crucial, therefore, to keep in constant touch with what is going on in your own life's story and to pay close attention to what is going on in the stories of others' lives. If God is present anywhere, it is in those stories that God is present. If God is not present in those stories, then they are scarcely worth telling."  (Fredrick Buechner)

Here is the prayer for today, November 15 from A Prayer for Everyday  "Great and living God, grant me the only greatness that exists. Make me great by being humble and submissive, in being meek and faithful in loving You. Grant that I do not strive after worldly greatness  but for the crown of eternal life. Amen."

I do not really care about being great for that is not going to happen to my life. But I do want to be found faithful in living for the Lord God who created me and loves me; who sent Jesus to give his life for my salvation. Even at that I know my faithfulness is not consistent or pure and it is by God's goodness that I can live with God's peace and favor. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God -- not the result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

At the end of my life I would like to say what Paul the Apostle said to his son in the faith, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day (when I die) and not only to me but to all who have longed for his appearing."

Here's a thought from Dayspring's "A Prayer To Share":

"I'm praying that you'll find peace in knowing you don't have to figure it all out; you can trust God to bring all things to completion and rest easy in His arms.

'I am sure of this , that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.' (Philippians 1:6)

God is more interested in your future and your relationships than you are. (Billy Graham)"

"I am, to a great extent, a mystery to myself. How could I know what I need?" (Augustine) This statement is something with which I can identify. I see a lot of mystery in life. I think I know what I need but then again maybe I'm fooling myself with what I think I need. Again to quote Augustine, "All human activity is prompted by desire." John Starke in his book The Possibility of Prayer writes, "Our behavior is driven by what we desire -- what we love. This can be a frustrating reality because there is a great division between who we want to be and how we actually live. We want to be one way, but something deeper is directing our behavior. There are deeper desires at work that we are often unconscious of but are still driving what we do...Scripture and human history show us that we are driven by deeper hungers-- desires that are infinite and keep us restless... Prayer changes us by shrinking the gap between who we are and who we long to become in Christ. We are neither saved nor sanctified by good habits, but certain habits put us in the way of transformation and change."

So it is that I will keep on with the spiritual disciplines I practice and trust that Holy Spirit is indeed using them to transform and change this infinitesimal being who inhabits an astronomical  universe. It's all part of God's story and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Words from the lectionary reading for the week:

Judges 4:1-7                  cried

Psalm 123                      eyes

Zephaniah 1:7,12-18     sinned

Psalm 90:1-12                everlasting

I Thessalonians 5:1-11   awake

Matthew 25: 14-30         ability

Jeremiah 25                    persistently