Listening to The Moth, a storytelling series on NPR on a drive to Richmond this afternoon. A pastor told a great story of what we like to call the "baby preacher" days…those last days of seminary. He pastored three tiny churches and was preparing for his big Easter sermon.
Anyway, there was a youth event at one church and one of the kids got left behind and had to be taken home. Travel "home" was out into nowhere land. He dropped the kid off, started home, and ran out of gas.
He walked for miles "toward the light"…guess that in itself could be theological…but it turned out to be a roadhouse/bar/poolroom. He went in, looked among the bikers for a friendly face, found himself playing a game of pool, winning a game of pool, and then explaining he had run out of gas and needed to get home to rest before Easter.
And then came the question. One of the bikers said, "What is Easter anyway?" He had never been to church, never heard the story, never known anything but the chicks and candy in the big box store.
And while the pastor finished his story, I thought, "Wow. Could I tell the story to someone who had never heard it before?"
It dawned on me how much I depend on familiarity with the story before I even start. It's a crazy story. Could I tell it in a way that made any kind of sense at all to someone who hadn't a clue?
That's the Lenten challenge of the day. In preparation for Easter, can we tell the story to someone who has never before heard the story?
Ready…go...
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