Stories tell us important truths about faith, life, what we deem valuable, and how we have come to view the world. They connect us with the past and give us hope for the future. Stories shape us as communities, nations, and people of faith.
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses shares the words of God that will make up the story that defines the people of Israel, both then and now. Israel’s story says that they are God’s people, that they are to love God with everything they are, and that they are to share this story with their children and among themselves, always and forever (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). This is a story has been told in the same words for thousands of years, becoming deeply ingrained in the very being of those who know and cherish it. This cherished story shapes both Judaism and Christianity, telling us who we are and whose we are.
What are the stories that shape your life?
This message is excerpted from “We are story people” by Jordan Miller-Stubbendick in the July/August 2019 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Catherine Winkworth, 1878, and John Mason Neale, 1866, hymn translators.
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