We need expalnations that are faithful to the truth...

2 Timothy 2:15 New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA

 

¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. 

Have you ever noticed when people get together they begin to exchange stories? Or when we have some time to sit and reflect we tell and retell stories to ourselves? It seems that it is how we are made.  Often we begin with a question or statement; ‘good to see you’, ‘how are you?’ or ‘alone at last!’  It’s the invitation to share a story, an invitation to bring ourselves or indeed each other into a mutual exchange of stories.  Even those people or events we don’t want in our story are invited to depart the narrative at some offered exit point. But at the same time, they remain for eternity part of our story.  We cannot escape the fact that they have in some way been part of our shaping; part of our history; part of the shaping of our identity, great or small. We tell stories about stories, we reflect, attribute roles and characters, offer evidence, attribute praise and blame and draw conclusions to form the meaning of our lives.  Some of the meanings of our life story actively hang around in our consciousness and bring us happiness or unhappiness when brought to mind.

 

Sometimes we are aware we are part of a story, that it has meaning for us, but we just can’t put a finger on why. These memories can pester us until we ‘place that face’ or ‘recall when we last felt a particular way’. Stories flood our senses with sounds, smells, tastes, touches, sights and feelings.  These become symbolised and are used by us to shape our values, attitudes and beliefs which in turn directs, defines and shapes our behaviour.  

 

It can all seem a bit overwhelming when we try and make sense of all this. That’s exactly why we turn to stories to explain stories.  Take for an example a sore head. ‘Why have I got a sore head and what can be done about it?’ The story maybe a story of lack of sleep, too much food, too much noise, too much alcohol or indeed all of the above and it’s the story of the office party! In this circumstance we would not expect to be referred by the GP for a brain scan; wrong story! We would perhaps learn the story of moderation? Perhaps not!  To make sense of the story of the ‘whole of life’ as well as its individual bits we use bigger stories called ‘Grand Narratives’  which are built up of a series of smaller stories related and interrelated with other stories circulating around us.  These larger more holistic stories that we use to explain our own story are based on values, attitudes, beliefs and practices that are called paradigms. Basically these are the fundamental principles used to build consistent meaning over time, providing the knowledge of ourselves and the worlds that we inhabit. When stories meet at common crossroads diverse and novel solutions to life questions arise. This facilitates for us the opportunity to creatively change our values, attitudes, beliefs and practices and allows us to build more congruent stories that make sense of our lived experiences and aspirations. 

The power of the story is the power to change life and our lived experience. For the disciples of Jesus of the Nazareth Sermon this story is basis of the re-examination and meaning making process of our lives.  Paul writing to a close friend Timothy urged him to work at using the story of scripture called the ‘Word of Truth’ to make sense of life and the world around him. This was the story and method that will rid his life of what the Greek word ‘anepaischuntos’ collectively puts under heading ‘shame and disgrace’. It’s a word that is only used once here in scripture. Reading the word more positively suggests that positive, progressive and transformative outcomes are achieved by accurately discerning, teaching and applying all the story of scripture. This is our task as disciples of Jesus of the Nazareth Sermon.