UCA SA - Reflection for the Week

Stories make us who we are

By Rev Dr Cathie Lambert

Over the weekend I braved the task of going through some old lever-arch files in an attempt to clean out my home office. The two files that particularly caught my attention were from my formation as a Uniting Church minister and as a spiritual director. You know how it is – what should have been a ten-minute job expanded to an hour. I found myself reading stories I had written twenty years ago. Stories of joy. Stories of struggle. Stories of transformation. These are the stories that have made me who I am today.

Stories help us make meaning. One of the stories I rediscovered in these files emerged from a challenging and difficult situation. I recall spending weeks crafting and recrafting this story, editing until I found the right words. In this process I was able to unravel the complexity of emotions and mystery surrounding the experience. Finding this story again was like finding a lost treasure, a little piece of who I am.

Stories help us to know who we are. We have shared stories which create belonging and community. Next year we celebrate 50 years of the Uniting Church in Australia. I am sure there will be plenty of storytelling. We will share the stories of relationships, conversations, and innovations that gave rise to a vision for a Uniting Church. We will share stories of where we have not got it right and need to do better in the future. Truth telling requires us to tell the stories we may be ashamed of and have covered up. All of these stories will hold a mirror up to who we are as a Church.

Our faith tradition is bounteous with stories. We have origin stories, nation’s stories, stories of faithful and flawed individuals and, of course, the story of Jesus. Within these narratives are layers of stories. We need only to look to Jesus’ teaching to hear numerous parables, stories with meaning for those who have ears to hear.

Our world is full of stories; some tragic, some hopeful, some alarming, and some confusing. How do we hear these stories? How do we know which are true or not? How do we connect with these stories? How do we pass these stories on to others? Stories do not simply stand alone. The narratives of our lives intersect, intertwine and sometimes collide.

I wonder what story from your life is significant to who you are today. I wonder if you have told this story recently. I wonder how this story meets the story of your faith. I wonder how this story meets the story of the world. Stories are for faith-sharing, meaning-making, and identity-forming. Let us learn to share them!