Telling Your Story

Everyone has something to tell–about themselves, about their family, about what the cat did… Readings for the upcoming weekend are stories about how some of our spiritual forbears met God. We who hear them are reminded of our own encounters with the Holy, whether for the first time or during a continued awareness of God’s Presence.

ISAIAH 6:1-13 tells the story of how Isaiah was accosted in a “vision” of the High Holy Place in the last year of normalcy, the “year that King Uzziah died”. Realizing his mortal imperfection, Isaiah protested his sinfulness. But God’s angel touched his mouth, and now he could prophesy. Some will wish to read beyond the 8th verse, where Isaiah volunteers to go to the people with God’s message: here is a puzzling lack of opportunity to turn it around, an acknowledgement that the world really is going to hell in a handcart.

I CORINTHIANS 15:1-11 gives Paul opportunity to recall his own meeting with God on the road to Damascus. The key verse in this recitation is #10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and [God’s] grace toward me has not been in vain.” He’s encouraging the Corinthian folks to tell their stories about God, accepting the idea that our own meeting the Holy is predicated on someone else telling about it. Who told you? Are there persons who not only told the story but lived it out in your background? “Consider the ways in which we are a continuation of the gospel story, the ways in which the risen Christ has appeared to us and transformed our living.” (Jeffrey D. Jones, in FEASTING on the WORD, C 1:331)

LUKE 5:1-11 tells the story about Jesus preaching on the lakeside, and how he moves on to Peter’s fishing boat. Please note that the miracle here isn’t the large catch of fish, but is Peter’s confession, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man”. No arguments from Jesus, just the affirmation that from now on Peter would be catching People. And so would James & John. God is moving toward new horizons: the fisher-folk thought that their lives were set, but God called them beyond…

So in my old age, I wonder where I’m going next. I can’t accept that God is done with me; the world still pushes in on us in many ways. Will there be another encounter? For me? or even for you… Just you wait!

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Come share with you own thoughts as we’re encountered by the Scripture every Tuesday; at horacebrownking.com