picture originally uploaded by e.g. gatsby

The 10 Words are embedded within the stories of the Lord delivering the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt and leading them into a land of promise. If we don’t read the commands within the story we may miss the rhythm. Within the actual commands, the Sabbath stands out as a command that has a story or two stories embedded within it. The Exodus 20:8-11Exodus 20:8-11
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁰ But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.  

WP-Bible plugin version of the command alludes to the creation story: God creates for six days; at the end of the six days, He says, “Very Good!”; and then He sets aside the seventh day as a day of rest.

The Deuteronomy 5:12-15Deuteronomy 5:12-15
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. ¹³ Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁴ But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. ¹⁵ And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.  

WP-Bible plugin version of the command references the story of Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Some call this story the redemption story. I tend to think to think of it as the re-creation story. Slavery strips a human of personal status: no name, no status, no self control. These non-persons are called out of the grave and into new life. They receive a name, a commission (the Torah), and a promise: the people who are not a people become a people, a new creation or a re-creation.

I’ve already teased out a few ideas related to Sabbath Recreation. So now I want to explore another nuance: the aspect of storying. For six days, Israel works hard for survival. While travelling across the wilderness and settling the land, their days are filled with all the typical chores of nomadic cultures and then agrarian cultures. In other words, their busy surviving. Bot one day they pause. They rest. They thank God for His faithfulness. They remember.

They remember the story of creation. They remember the story of re-creation. They remember their own history. They retell the story. This regular habit of pausing and retelling their story in Sabbath thanksgiving and in festival celebration, reveals an essential element of identity formation in everything from personhood to tribal or ethnic identity to brand management. Telling our story again and again and again imprints our identity on our minds, in our bodies and ultimately in our actions.

Many companies spend thousands of dollars to develop a brand identity program, focusing their energy on design. Design is important but pales in comparison to telling and retelling and retelling the story. Companies need to tell their story. But first they need to learn their stories. Many people participate in a companies’ stories, including their customers. If they don’t learn to listen to their stories as well, they may discover the customer stories may turn against the company story, and then they’ll spend lots of PR cash trying to regain their voice.

But let me think about storying on a personal level. If there is a story to tell, I would suggest there is a story to hear. Many conference speakers are master storytellers. Many great filmmakers are also amazing story tellers. But I would also suggest we need to cultivate the gift of storycollecting.

I come from a family of storytellers, but I sometimes think my greater gift is storycollecting. People need to tell their story and someone needs to listen. I suggesting storycollecting or story listening is a part of Sabbath Hospitality.

Today while I was drinking coffee and reflecting on the 10 Words, a man walked up and immediately started telling me his story. I stopped and listened. Obviously that what was the rhythm I needed to pay attention to.

He was wearing a cross and two chains. I asked about the chains. He explained that they were cheap fan chains (for ceiling fans). He wore these chains with the cross as a sign of devotion without being ostentatious. Then he proceeded to tell me stories of St. Francis and his vow of poverty and service. In a matter of minutes, I traveled all through church history listening to tidbits about the lives and saints and lives devoted to service and obedience to the call and pattern of Jesus. As he was leaving the man handed me a gift. A book on the “Rule of St. Benedict.”

Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by people with stories to tell. If we are willing to listen, people will tell us their stories. We give them a gift in listening, and they give us a gift in telling them. In Orson Scott Card’s Alvin Maker stories, there is a character named Taleswapper. He collects stories and then redistributes them. I think this is an interesting way of thinking about stories. We listen and trade. As we listen, we may learn the hidden wisdom of Hebrew storytelling.

Their story is told from varying perspective based on the current circumstance. By telling their story in new ways or through new angles, they speak wisdom to the current crisis, challenge or opportunity. If we learn to listen rightly, we may learn the rhythm of knowing when to tell a story and what story needs to be told. I would suggest that a world of storytellers may bring more peace and healing than a culture of would-be messiahs pointing fingers at all the devils around them.

Popularity: 7% [?]