Story Time

I feel like I've heard a lot about "stories" the last few days. Several times in the last week someone has made referrence to the significance of "story." Whether it be telling a story or possessing a story, people seem to be talking about stories. I thank my friend, Jenn, in large part for all of this...she seems to be captivated with Donald Miller's newest story, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" which tells the story of the making his life story into a movie.

I'm working on my homily for the Pinewood and Summerville Baccauleate services, and I can't seem to shake stories from my mind as I write this homily. In fact, my homily has become a story about part of my personal story. I'm talking about what it means to have an identity-who you are.

My story of faith began when I discovered that I was a child of God. My story began with discover of my true identity.

In John 1:12-13, we are told, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

God wants relationship. I get nervous saying what God wants, but claiming God desires relationship is one thing I am comfortable saying. God wants to know us, but more importantly, God wants to be known by us. The extent of that truth is powerfully expressed in Jesus Christ, the one in whom we are reconciled to God.

We have all been created by God, formed by His hand, and shaped by his Spirit. When we discover God, we discover our true identity. We discover that we are Children of God. Our identity is made real and our story really starts to be lived out. Our story becomes alive, because, united to God in Christ, we begin to live in God story, where true life can only be found.

The Right Action

This morning I was reading from the Gospel of Matthew. There is a familiar verse in the 25th chapter that reads, "Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." As I came across verse 40, I could not help but stop to consider its significance.

The words of Jesus in verse 40 are part of a larger narrative. Jesus has begun to inform his disciples of what to expect when the Son of Man comes in all His glory (25:31-46). There is a place in Heaven for the righteous, a place that was established at the foundation of the world. But what makes them righteous? Jesus lists a number of actions that will be performed by the righteous...actions that convey their love for God. Those actions are 1) giving food to the poor, 2) giving drink to the thirsty, 3) welcoming strangers, 4) clotheing the naked, 5) caring for the sick, and 6) visiting the imprisoned. These actions, it would appear, are the actions of the righteous.

Reading this narrative reminded me that our actions communicate our identity. Simply, we live what we think. We act what we believe. We are what we do. The righteous were not made righteous by their actions. Their actions communicate the love they have for God. A love that comes from knowing God's love for them.