STORY TIME

Mark 4:33-34 (The Message)

“With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke.  When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots.”

    “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus” was one of my favorite hymns growing up as a child, so when I read scripture speaking of Jesus and stories, it always comes to mind.  But this particular passage with its   ‘never without a story’ also reminds me of friends who are always ready with an appropriate joke or story for the situation at hand, able to quickly “read” the audience and adapt their message to the listening crowd.  You have those friends too!   Jesus would have been such a master entertainer as he could control a crowd by his words.

    Yet even today we, like the disciples, need an interpretation.  The story itself makes sense, or it would if we were still 30 AD Palestinians, but how it relates to our life and our relationship with God and others isn’t always so clear.  We need that time alone with Jesus to ask questions, to ‘untangle the knots’.  Personal time of study and reflection can be that private time Jesus spent alone with the disciples. It is time to read, reflect, and LISTEN to the voice of God.  What message is God sending today?  What story is Jesus telling me today?  What stories of Jesus might I be ready to share with others? What insight can God give me to tie the message to the needs of the listeners? 

    This private time alone with the divine is helping me to sort out the tangles and untie the knots.