What's the story?

St. Paul had a story to tell....

I can remember the advice given by one homiletics professor. She was offering pointers about effective preaching...and she said that it is wise to minimize the number of stories about yourself. Furthermore, avoid stories where the ending implies that YOU are the hero.

I agree!

When the first apostles roamed around and carried on the mission of Jesus Christ, their proclamation was empowered by the Holy Spirit...the Living Word of God. Although they may have shared anecdotes that gave "flesh" to their stories, The ultimate hero, so to speak, was always Christ...alive and moving in their midst.

Each of us is called to tell his or her faith story with joy. And, as in the posting earlier this week, our stories always serve to glorify and praise God in some way. They also till the soil of others' hearts and minds so that faith will sprout.

When our stories are rooted in God's Love, our tales of personal experiences reverberate with God's invitation to others to "come!" They are truly not about us...they are about God's Grace intersecting with our lives and moving us from temporal existence and placing us on the path of eternity....with all the saints.

As faith stories conclude, the wise narrator gets out of the way...so that the author of the story can be in conversation with the audience!