A Winter’s Tale

For those of us from northern climates, the onset of Winter often finds us staying in as snow, ice and slush hamper our daily travel. This can heighten those wintertime feelings of sadness or simply make us more reflective. So winter is often a time when we search for someone to talk to, for one with whom we can share our story.

Storytelling — that imaginative way we try to express the excitement, confusion and commonness of our experiences — is as old as humanity. We are by nature storytellers as we seek out a way in life to explain,
explore and communicate with each other, to understand and cope with ourselves and our world. From the age-old bedtime stories that lulled us to sleep to the great works of fiction that have captured our imagination, we are a people who have traded and enjoyed tales of hope, tragedy and victory, so that we might grow in understanding of the true meaning and purpose of life.

Good storytelling is an art but personal storytelling—when we share our life's struggles and hopes with others — can also be a source of healing and wholeness. Faith-sharing of this kind is not new—for we have at our disposal a treasure of stories that have been told for centuries and did make a difference. This unique library of memorable tales is saved for us in the Sacred Scriptures, the tales of God’s life with his people.

The scriptures contain a storehouse where scribes have penned for centuries the hopes and dreams, the hurts and fears, the doubts, weakness, joys and sorrows – the substance of the faith-sharing of God's people. These have been written for all to take, read, learn and live by.

In these stories we experience the loneliness of exile and the joy of release, the hopes for the “One” to come who would shatter the darkness and bring true meaning to life. All these tales are recounted for us in the Word of God, and all were told before the advent of the Master Storyteller, Jesus Christ.

With the birth of the Messiah, the story of our faith began to be told with all the color, richness and beauty that only God himself could bring to the narrative of love which is our faith in God and God’s belief in us.

Which of us is not moved by the stories of the Prodigal Son and his forgiving Father, of lost sheep and loving shepherds, of sinners sought out, and faith that brings healing. Can we listen and not be moved by those simply profound words: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”? Does Lazarus’ rising from death leave us still feeling unloved or can Jesus’ being raised leave us oblivious to the gift of hope?

These are not simply stories from the past penned to help us, for they also reach into our minds and hearts today to challenge and heighten our hopes. Their content is also the substance of our daily journey.
This scriptural story book is truly precious because it is not only the tale of an individual walking alone, but also the story of a community that shares a common journey. Today we need to share our lives and struggles, our sorrows and hopes as a pilgrim people. No one of us should feel alone in our search for we are moving through life together.

Liturgy and life are where the Sacred stories of the past and present meet. In the Eucharist our doubts and faith, our needs and giftedness, our sinfulness and salvation are retold in the light of Christ. All this is done so that we might not lose heart, that the unity of our life and faith might be more evident to us and that our joy might be complete. Here our communion – in weakness and in victory – is mysteriously accomplished for today and every day. So as a people united together at Eucharist, where we tell and retell our journey in faith, we are also called as individuals to celebrate the shared courage God gives us to “do even greater things” than the Lord himself did (John 14:12). Now that’s a story worth telling!