The Power of Story...

One author who has had tremendous impact on my spiritual walk is Eugene Peterson. His understanding of Scripture as narrative and explanation of this in “Working the Angles” is significant for me this week as I reflect on the story of Christ’s birth. He lists five characteristics of “story” (Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles, p120):

- There is a beginning and an end.
- A catastrophe occurs (marked by conflict, tragedy, brokenness, and woundedness).
- Salvation is plotted (the story unfolds around the redemption/reconciliation/restoration of the conflict).
- Characters develop (either for good or evil…no one stays the same).
- Everything has significance.

One thing that continues to amaze me is the cyclic nature of life. I see this “pattern” played out over and over again in various theaters of my life, and I’m beginning to understand that one trait of maturity is to recognize this and learn all I can for the next leg of the journey. One insight I have gathered is that each end is simply a new beginning. More specifically, a new beginning can happen without a definitive end to what was. Of all the gospels only Luke includes detail on Zachariah and Elizabeth…why? Luke is simply picking up at the “end” of the OT (Malachi 4) with the “beginning” of the next narrative in the story. There is a divine unity to it that once seen is captivating. Zachariah and Elizabeth are a bridge connecting the “old” with the “new” in one beautiful story of redemption. They are a reminder that each moment is pregnant with eternal significance…waiting for us to discover the transcendent in the mundane. There is always a lot more going on than we are aware of.

Looking through this grid at Luke chapter one has helped to bring it to life and tie it more clearly to my own story. I have personally reflected on the “story” of Christ’s birth in 4 spheres: 1.) personally, 2.) with respect to my family, 3.) with respect to the local body of Christ, 4.) with respect to what is going on globally. I think in many ways I feel my life to be once again at a new beginning, faced with new conflicts, resting in the reality of a salvation that “is and is to come”, longing for my growth in character, and finding more significance in every moment than I thought possible. How about you?