Ever
seen a movie re-make that should never have been made? Why does Hollywood take classic movies and
redo them, minus the magic that made them classic in the first place? I guess the answer is money, as usual – they
figure people will go see it. But why
tell a story over and over again when it has been told so well in the first
place. I’ve seen it with movies from my
childhood – Willy Wonka, Clash of Titans, Karate Kid – and my pet peeve, Planet
of the Apes—have all been made into far less wonderful imitations. And then there are those great books that are
made into movies time and time again, proving again and again that great books
don’t always translate well to the silver screen. The immense power of Melville’s Moby Dick just
can’t be squeezed into a movie, so why do filmmakers keep trying?
Maybe
because there is something in the story that bears repeating, rethinking,
reworking. The beloved well-known
versions of the Maltese Falcon, The Ten Commandments, Wizard of Oz and Ben Hur
were all remakes. Barbara Streisand
remade A Star is Born from a classic Judy Garland version that itself was a successful
re-make. And now, get ready for Lady
Gaga’s version! The original 1933 King
Kong was a technical masterpiece of its day, but modern special effects have
made more recent versions if not better, at least impressive in new ways.
So when
you’ve got a good story, it bears repeating.
Besides movies, we get stories in many forms: e-books, graphic novels, musicals,
Netflix serials, audiobooks, plays, websites, and once in a while a plain,
regular, old-fashioned book with words and pictures that don’t move. Back in elementary school, our teacher used
to read to us. We were allowed to sit on
the square carpeted space on the classroom floor and didn’t have to answer
questions or do math problems for once…we could just listen and use our
imaginations to give life to the story.
It was relaxing and fun. Those
stories took us to other places, other lands, sometimes other planets. They got us using another piece of our brains
for a while, and got us to slow down and think.
Story time made school seem a whole lot friendlier. It’s amazing what stories can do.
The gospel writers were no
dummies. They wanted to present the Good
News of Jesus in the most inspiring and powerful way possible. They could have just made a list of ways to
follow Jesus – dos and don’ts, good ways to live and evil things to avoid. They could have given step-by-step instructions
on how to evangelize and start churches.
They could have made complicated arguments for different doctrinal
positions and ways to defend Christian beliefs against pagan doubters. There were lots of ways the gospel writers
could have gone about presenting Christianity to encourage those early
generations of believers. But what they
chose to do was tell stories.
Those stories had probably been
told before. In fact, even after Mark
had given a pretty good overview of the ministry of Jesus in his gospel,
Matthew and Luke had things they wanted to add.
So we have multiple gospels – each of them a collection of stories about
what Jesus said and did…and two of the first three were re-makes. Then John comes along and gives a whole new
perspective on Jesus with a bunch of new stories, teachings, and a more divine
take on the Son of Man. So now we have
four gospels, all of them showing us Christianity through the lens of the Jesus
story. But the creation of story-collections
about God wasn’t totally new and unheard of.
The Old Testament itself takes many stories and weaves them into one
great, continuous story stretching from the dawn of creation through the rise
and downfall of Israel. I’ve heard it
said that, page-for-page and word-for-word, over ¾ of the Bible consists of
stories.
It’s not always easy to follow
the storyline, but God is trying to tell us something very important, not just
in what he says but in how he says it.
That long, continuous story which God started at the beginning bears
repeating. We tell it again and again
and are still telling it. We tell it
again and again because it is also our story, yours and mine. Maybe sometimes we tell it better than
others. Maybe sometimes we get the story
wrong. Maybe sometimes we tell it at
just the right moment that hearts are open to receive it in a way that they see
exactly how the story is theirs, and they respond by praising God.
When you tell your story, how do
you connect it to God’s? Where does your
life history intersect with the history told in the Bible? One point of contact is through baptism –
through that water and those promises, God reached out and touched you and
brought you into his story. What stories
about God have been particularly meaningful to you? Maybe there are parts of that story that
caused you to change the direction of your life. Maybe you’re still figuring out that story
and what it means to you. Maybe you’re
well aware that the life you are living right now, at this very moment, is also
part of God’s ongoing story.
As we prepare for our new
11:30am Child of God service, we celebrate storytelling in its many forms. We will be going back to the basic stories in
Scripture and tracing how that one continuous story of God’s love has unfolded
through the vast ages of time and continues in the very living and storytelling
that we do right now. Because it is
God’s story, it is ageless and endless.
Because it is our story, it is personal and poignant. Although it is told over and over again down
through the years, it is never exactly the same. That’s why it bears repeating.
Peace,
Pastor Scott
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