Do you have memories of listening to stories? Maybe bedtime stories were read to you when you were tucked into bed at night. Or stories told around a campfire—ghost stories that made you cuddle into your hoodie or blanket. Or maybe you remember large family get-togethers on Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas when multiple generations gathered around and told stories about what Uncle Joe did on the camping trip—the big one that got away. Or the story about that humiliating thing you did when you were seven, that everyone still talks about—every year! Or better still do you remember when Granddaddy told the story of what he did as a boy and you said, “Really? You did that too?” and you bonded, really bonded.
We love to hear stories. We can dream of possibilities and learn from stories. We learn what to do, what is possible, and how to live! Stories like Jesus’ parables. In the blog “He Gets Us”, they say,
“Whether you’re familiar with Jesus’ personal story or not It’s likely that you've heard a few of his narratives. Perhaps it’s “The Prodigal Son” or “The Good Samaritan”? Even if those titles don’t ring a bell, you’ve probably heard their retellings. Because we haven’t let these stories go. Jesus captured our attention with them.
During his time, it’s obvious he captured the attention of his immediate audience, too. He was known to draw a crowd whenever he spoke, whether walking outside or sitting around the dinner table. And you can imagine the joy in his voice when he spoke about a shepherd finding his lost sheep or a father welcoming back his wayward son.”
Jesus’s stories were — and still are — compelling.
But like all good stories with staying power, they do more than entertain. They hold meaning. That’s what gives stories their value. Some call Jesus’ stories “logos,” which simply translates to “word,” but we all know words must be put in the right order to amount to anything. And Jesus ordered his words with purpose, pointing to the truth about wisdom, discernment, and love. When we see this “logos” in any story — from Jesus’ parables to our favorite fairy tales, from popular movies to the news — we recognize it. It resonates when goodness prevails. And this goodness is what holds us all together. It’s part of our shared human experience.
This is why we can still look to Jesus’ stories and use them as reference points. It turns out, things haven’t changed that much. Humans are still humans, and the world still runs on stories. And Jesus told some of the best of them. He was a story-telling man, who in his person and his stories shared God’s confounding, unconditional love, and asked us to do the same.
-Barbara Murray
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