From the Pastor - "Telling God's Story" April 2016

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Dear Friends in Christ,

The night he was arrested, the day before he was crucified, Jesus prayed:

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Like many people, I tend to evaluate my day according to my standards.  Did I get what I wanted?  Has everything met my expectations? 

For Christians, that type of perspective misses the mark.  Instead, Jesus shows us to measure our life in terms of God’s expectations.  How can we know what God expects? 

One way of doing theological reflection is called “telling God’s story.”1  To do this, one must become familiar enough with the story of ancient Israel, Jesus, and the church to interpret oneself and the world in view of that narrative. 

For example, when we tell the story of the Lord’s Supper through the liturgy, we are not simply communicating an event from the past but also embodying it in the present.  We become participants in the story and not simply observers.  By sharing the bread and the cup, we are sharing in the same meal Jesus shared with his disciples. 

In a pluralistic world, many stories are told.  According to Gerard Loughlin, God’s story is distinctive for Christians because it is “self-narrated through Christ, witnessed to in Scripture and doctrine and embodied in the life of the church.”2

Throughout the ages, Christians have been seeking to be part of God’s story on a personal and congregational level. 

How is your life becoming part of God’s story?  Into what kind of future do you see God leading us as a congregation? 

Trinity’s strategic planning team wants to hear and collect your stories of Trinity, as well as your hopes for the future.  Seeing Trinity as part of God’s story is a vital part of discerning our direction for the future. 

As we imagine ourselves as participants in God’s story, we become a foretaste of God’s kingdom through the particular ways we live in peace with ourselves, with one another, with neighbors and strangers, and with God. 

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Brian C. Smith
_________
1 Elaine Graham, Heather Walton, and Frances Ward. Theological Reflection: Methods. London: SCM, 2005.  78-108.

2 Ibid. 104.

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