“A tale needing to be told”

Meditation – Tuesday, November 9, 2021 by Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Psalm 78:1-39 (Forward, p. 11) CEV p. 601

I’m afraid that this psalm is, to me at least, a wake-up call of the highest order. It’s entire message is about how the people of Israel forgot what God had done for them and, as a result, neglected to trust Him and follow Him and do as He commanded. And why did this happen? Why did they forget? It was largely because they were not told.

Verses 1-8 are most adamant that, just as we have heard the faith story, the story of God’s dealings with His people, from past generations, so should also pass on this story to succeeding generations, to our children and grandchildren. The psalmist sincerely hopes that the past loss and degeneration of faith will not happen once again:

“God gave his Law to Jacob’s descendants, the people of Israel. And he told our ancestors to teach their children, so that each new generation would know his Law and tell it to the next. Then they would trust God and obey his teachings, without forgetting anything God had done. They would be different from their ancestors, who were stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful to God” (verses 5-8).

Years ago, in 1976 in fact, John H. Westerhoff III, wrote a book entitled, Will Our Children Have Faith? and that remains a still very pertinent question even to this day. “According to Westerhoff, instead of guiding faith formation within the family, the church, and the school, we relegate religious education to Sunday morning classes. There, children learn the facts about religion, but how will they learn or experience faith? How can we nourish and nurture the faith of children, instead of only teaching the facts?”

Martha Zimmerman follows up on this suggestion in her book, “Celebrating Biblical Feasts”. In this book she suggests family rituals appropriate for celebrating the various feasts found in the Bible. Even though the feasts she singles out are the Jewish feasts of the Hebrew Scriptures, her ideas could well be adapted for Christian observances as well. Here I’m thinking of the Advent wreath and Nativity scenes, but could not we do something with Easter, Pentecost and All Saints as well?

And not just that: what about our own faith stories? I am greatly saddened in the innumerable times during funeral preparations when the children or grandchildren or nieces or nephews do not know the faith experience of the person’s life they are now wanting to remember and celebrate. And here, I have to ask about myself and my own family: have I adequately told my story to them? I’m afraid that I have probably been amiss in this, and probably most of us have. So, maybe now, as we approach Advent and Christmas, is a good time to reconsider and see what we might do differently this time. After all, God calls us to get ready, to rekindle our faith and hope and love, so why not with our families and our children as well. Amen.

Forward notes: “Hear my teaching, O my people; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will declare the mysteries of ancient times. That which we have heard and known, and what our forefathers have told us, we will not hide from their children. We will recount to generations to come the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the LORD, and the wonderful works he has done” (verses 1-4).

“Who are our storytellers today? In the Native communities, they are our elders and holy men and women. As that generation passes, so do the stories that they carry. Hopefully, we heard the stories enough times that some of us remember and learned something from them and will be the next generation of storytellers.

“One of my teachers once talked about how television and Hollywood replaced the storytellers. No longer do we sit by the glow and warmth of the home hearth listening to our storytellers. Nowadays, we sit, staring at the cold glow of the television. The more I thought about this, the more I’m convinced that this is true. Where are our storytellers?”

MOVING FORWARD: “Seek out a storyteller. Or if you are one yourself, invite others to listen.”