 |
ed. 2.07 - Lent 2007 — visit CopperHouse at www.woodlakebooks.com |
|
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD(Based on John 1:1–14)
Imagine a long, long time ago when there was no world. No stars. No animals. No people. No you. Just nothing. Now imagine that even though there was nothing, God was there. God was there like a strange light that is everywhere, but doesn’t come from anywhere. The light didn’t shine on anything, because there was nothing to shine on. Can you imagine that? Then God had an idea. God decided to make the universe, and the earth, and to fill it with all kinds of creatures, and with all kinds of people like you and me. And in each person, and in every living thing, and in everything God created, God put some of the light that was there before there was anything. You have some of that light in you. People can see that light shining in your eyes when you laugh. Sometimes they also see God’s light when you cry. Then God had a very special idea about a very special person. God decided to make a person who would come and live with us to show us what God is like. A special person to show us how to live God’s way. There was a man named John. God sent John to tell us about the very special person that was coming. “Look,” said John. “You can’t see God because God isn’t a ‘something’ you can see. Nobody can see God. But God will send us a person to show us what God is like. God will send this special person to tell us about that wonderful light that all of us have – God’s light that comes to us from the time before there was anything. “The name of that special person is Jesus. Jesus will help you shine. Jesus will help you find God’s light that is inside you. Jesus will help you live God’s way.”
|
 |
TELL A FRIEND! IN THIS EDITION:Setting the Theme The Untamed and Disciplined Imagination of the Storyteller and Artist Christian Midrash Bibliodrama Soul Quest The Player’s Gift Lens on Lent “God in Your Grace, Transform the World”: Hearing Story-Prayers from Around the World Stay CURRENT, Stay Connected |
|
|
CopperHouseCURRENT Archive Catalogue |
And So We Begin…Imagine the writer of John’s gospel sitting down to write the story of Jesus. In his mind he is clear about the difference he wants to make in people’s lives by setting down this story and his assertions concerning the life of Jesus. Already half a century has passed since the events described in the gospels took place. The stories of Jesus, the effects of his life and teaching, his death on a Roman cross, and the reality of his awesome presence in people’s lives have become part of the oral tradition of the early Christian community. Now, two generations later, a written record is forming. In a study group last week, someone spoke a striking truth in the form of a rhetorical question: Why couldn’t Jesus and his followers have carried tape recorders with them so that all those who came after didn’t have to deal with the 40- or 50-year time gap between when the events of Jesus’ ministry happened and when they were written down? The question implies a profound desire to know exactly what went on in Jerusalem, in Capernaum, in Jericho – in all the places Jesus is reported to have travelled in his brief, earth-shaking, faith-shaping ministry. Instead of filmed or tape-recorded evidence, we have four short, fanciful stories, each one betraying the bias of its author. What kind of authority does such writing carry? Certainly not the authority of an eyewitness report. The authority of these stories rests on the storytelling tradition of which these writers and their communities were a part. The gospels are compelling accounts not because they report what actually happened but because they are forged out of the real, lived experience of communities of the Way of Jesus, founded after the death of Jesus and after the resurrection experiences of those who had known him. When we ask for a tape recording of what really went on, we betray our attraction to an archival and documentary tradition, to a way of knowing that is based on collecting and ordering as much evidence as can be found. Instead of that, we belong to a tradition of story making and story catching that is founded on imagination, image, metaphor, and the creative intention of the teller. Let’s celebrate the fact that 40 or 50 years passed after the death of Jesus before the writers of the tradition began to set down their version of events based on the oral tradition. Let’s claim our place in the tradition as story makers shaping fanciful, imaginative, spirit-filled, community-based, and thoroughly biased tellings of the story, to share with all who will listen or read.
Let’s begin with a wonderful new example of this kind of storytelling for the child in all of us. Ralph Milton is a celebrated storyteller. In this excerpt from his introduction to the newly published Lectionary Story Bible – Year A, he expresses powerfully the spirit of the storytelling tradition to which all Christians are heirs: I’m a storyteller, not a theologian or a Bible scholar. The two most important things I bring to the task of telling Bible stories for children are imagination and passion. First, imagination.Where the terse biblical text offers little detail, I add my own. Where names are missing, I invent them. Where connecting narrative is absent, I supply it. Then I add my own dash of drama and suspense and fun. Sometimes, almost the whole story comes from my imagination and almost none of it from the Bible, though I’ve tried very hard to preserve the intention of the scripture reading. As a professional writer, my imagination is not tamed, but it is disciplined. I do my research. The details I imagine are checked to make sure they have textual, historical, and theological validity. I’ve taken many biblical courses, done graduate work in Israel, and read hundreds of books in order to be able to do this. But still, the imagination that weaves these stories out of the raw material of the Bible is wild and childlike, and some people will find that profoundly disturbing. Second, passion.I believe with a deep and profound passion that God wants us to be a joyful, just, and caring people. One of the ways (but by no means the only way) God chose to help us be that kind of people was to encourage a particular people (the Hebrews) at a particular time (the biblical era) to record the stories of their struggles and sorrows, their joys and hopes. They collected all kinds of writings – legends, folklore, stories, poems, fiction, history, recipes, and laws, and a dash here and there of utter drivel – into a book, which we call the Bible. The Bible can be a source of insight and wisdom and fun for adults and children. If we’re open, God can speak to us through the stories of the Bible. And when God speaks, it’s never boring.
The Untamed and Disciplined Imagination of the Storyteller and ArtistMeeting Old Isaiah and Young Rebekah for the First Time, by Ralph Milton and Margaret KyleIn this excerpt from Lectionary Story Bible - Year A, which is based on Isaiah’s vision as recorded in Isaiah 11:1–10, we experience the combination of imagination and passion to which Ralph Milton refers in his introduction. We also glimpse the evocative and beguilingly simple illustrations of artist Margaret Kyle.
Christian MidrashRecovering the Power of Story within the Christian Tradition, Herbert O’DriscollIt was a long but good day of Christian-Jewish dialogue in Calgary about 15 years ago. When the day ended, Peter, the young rabbi of that particular congregation, suggested he and I have a cup of coffee. At some stage in that very interesting chat, he said to me, “You know, you people lose such a great deal by not allowing yourselves to do midrash.” By “you people” he meant those of us who preach in Christian churches. I often think of that moment because in subsequent years we have indeed begun to give ourselves permission to do what we might call Christian midrash. I, for one, have found it immensely rewarding and I like to think – as do all preachers – that those who have had to listen to me have benefited as well. BibliodramaPutting Midrash into Practice, by Tim ScorerBibliodrama provides a very simple yet incredibly effective way of bringing the ancient spiritual discipline of midrash to a gospel text, and of discovering the insights the text holds for people on a particular day. Bibliodrama is a group practice in which the facilitator leads the group members to insights and revelations within the text through a very specific methodology. For the purposes of this article, I will use the story in Luke 5:1–11 of the moment when Jesus comes to the Sea of Galilee. After preaching to the crowd, he calls four of the fishers to join him in his itinerant ministry. The facilitator begins to tell the biblical story:“Once when Jesus was standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the crowd was pushing in on him to better hear the Word of God.”The facilitator turns from the story to the group and says:“You’re there in that crowd. What do you want to hear from this preacher that would make it worth everything it has taken for you to be here today?”Soul QuestFollowing the 40-Day Mountain Odyssey of Paul Hawker
Whether it’s a call to Galilean fishermen to leave their boats and overloaded nets in order to follow an unknown way, or a choice by an Australian television writer and producer to go – in the spirit of Jesus’ wilderness experience – to the solitude and danger of a mountain in early winter, the quest of the soul is compelling and frequently irresistible. Paul Hawker chose to return to a mountainous area in New Zealand where he had trekked in his teenage years. He intended to give himself fully to the solitary 40-day spiritual pilgrimage, to wait on and to be guided by the presence of God’s Spirit in all things. His book is a compelling and thoroughly honest account of his encounter with the mountain, with the holy, and, ultimately, with himself. As Hawker writes in the preface, It would have been tempting to come down from the mountain and tell only of the insights gained, leaving out the failures, mistakes, conceit and bad behaviours. But I want to be open about what went on “up there” to show that I am no different from anyone else – that I too struggle with so much, and that each of our soul journeys is a lifetime affair with many stops, starts, hiccups, and branch lines along the way. I claim to be no more or less than a spiritual pilgrim, a fellow traveller. I share this story of my experience of God in the hope that what touched me may also touch you, and for you to take what you need at this moment to help you along your own soul journey. Hawker’s writing is direct and unpretentious. The book is an easy one-day read, which, in addition to the events of his pilgrimage, is rich in personal spiritual reflection. As a spiritual director I’m always interested to hear how people both experience and give language to the presence of God, the divine, the sacred, the holy. Hawker’s spiritual journey is alive with a guiding voice and supporting invisible presence. I came away from his account inspired by the courage and tenacity of his venture, ready to encourage myself and others to seek opportunities for “time out” with the Holy One, however one names or experiences that mysterious reality. Going for 40 days to a remote and dangerous mountain range in New Zealand was Paul Hawker’s way of recovering relationship with his spiritual roots. I left the book wondering what my practice might be and beginning to imagine all the ways I might encourage others to reconnect with the essence at the heart of our personal and unfinished stories. The Player’s GiftSharing the Story as Dramatic Monologue, Sheelah Megill“You’ll never guess what I saw on the bus today!” “My water broke at around two in the morning…” “We walked to school when I was a kid. One morning it was so cold…” “He was always a prankster. I laugh when I think of the time he…” “Once upon a time, there was a little girl, just about your age…” “I’ve never told a soul about what happened…but I need to…” “Mary gripped Joseph’s arm and said, ‘I don’t think I can go much farther.’” We are all storytellers. Stories are threads that connect the moments of our lives to reveal meaning. Stories establish in our consciousness the relationships between people, things, and events. Stories form the basis for our concept of what is “true.” Whether the story we share is silly or serious, frivolously conceived or painstakingly constructed, the storyteller creates a powerful reality. There is great delight and tremendous responsibility in answering the call to “spin a tale.” As an actor, I approach storytelling from a single character’s point of view. From this very subjective, first-person vantage point, the retelling of a story becomes, in a way, the reliving of it. I believe that drama in worship should invite each listener to share in the expansion of ideas and issues in an intensely personal way, and thus be a source of encouragement on the journey of faith and transformation. Through the immediacy of the action and the willingness of the actor to “take a risk first,” the congregation may taste the experience of being witnesses to miracle, glory, and the presence of grace. The skills of an actor do not transform the ordinary; rather, they strive to reveal and explore the extraordinary that was there all along. Lens on LentLiving Lent through the Frame of Film: Jesus of Montreal – a Congregational Program IdeaWhen we find ourselves halfway through the season of Lent, we begin to anticipate the events of Holy Week, this year the first week of April. The Canadian film Jesus of Montreal anticipates the narrative of Holy Week, while continuing to explore the theme of personal transformation, which is at the heart of the Lenten journey. For Christians who understand that the Bible is to be taken seriously but never literally, this is the very best of the films that present the Passion Narrative. No other “Jesus” film has been so creative in presenting the story of Jesus as a metaphor that, when taken to heart, can radically transform lives. Plot summary When attendance at a church’s annual Passion play flags, a troupe of young actors is hired to stage a newer interpretation of the teachings of Jesus. While their newer, more modern version is critically acclaimed, it also brings down the condemnation of the church hierarchy, creating a strange parallel between the actors – now persecuted believers – and the authorities. But the lead actor, who is beginning to feel at peace with the character he plays, insists that the show will go on… no matter what happens to him in the process. The film is two hours in length, and is in French with English subtitles. Watch the film, take a short break, and then have a 45-minute discussion about the insights gleaned by the members of your group. “God in Your Grace, Transform the World”*Hearing Story-Prayers from Around the World: Prayer Focus from the World Council of ChurchesAt the opening worship of the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in February 2006, groups of people from each geographic region of the world presented a “cry for transformation.” These cries appear as stories, each one containing a brief yet vast overview of the dominant stories from that region. The people who made the presentations at the Assembly came forward and presented a symbol from their region before reading their story-cry. You can read these as story prayers, allowing yourself time and space to hear the cry and to begin to imagine and remember the real historical and cultural stories from which each of these prayers comes. *This was the theme for the 9th Assembly.
AFRICAThe symbol from Africa was a Shona stone from Turkana, the cradle of civilization. Hear the cries from Africa:
Stay CURRENT, Stay ConnectedContact editor Tim Scorer at copperhousecurrent@woodlakebooks.com Coming NextCelebrating the Season of Easter (April 8) and honouring Earth Day (April 22) our focus will be on the environment. Watch for the CopperHouseCURRENT on April 20.
|
About usCopperHouse is a publishing imprint of Wood Lake Publishing Inc.,9590 Jim Bailey Rd, Kelowna, BC, Canada V4V 1R2. To find out more about us go to www.woodlakebooks.com Tell a friendHelp us spread the word by clicking here.Contact the editor, Tim Scorercopperhousecurrent@woodlakebooks.comContact Customer Service if you have problems with or questions about the subscriptioncustomerservice@woodlake.com
|
