STORIES:
WHAT ARE THE STORIES
IN YOUR SPIRITUAL REPERTOIRE?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Stories: What Are The Stories In Your Spiritual Repertoire?”

Part of our spirituality – our spiritual outlook – how we do life – how we deal with different situations – is our use of stories. All of us have stories that help us for the various situations we run into.

What are the stories in your spiritual repertoire or in your storeroom – an image for our mind and memory from today’s gospel.

There’s other tricks and practices that we use: sayings, principles, breathing exercises, walking, journal writing, agenda lists, making and taking time for prayer, etc. I’m focusing on stories in this homily because that’s one of the things we can focus on from today’s readings.

FOR EXAMPLE: THE FOX RIVER

Let me give an example of what I’m trying to talk about.

Three weeks ago I’m reading a book by a Methodist minister – James Moore: The Top Ten List For Christians – with the subtitle, “Priorities for Faithful Living”. One of the chapters is, “You Don’t Have To Cross the Fox River Until You Get To It.”

In the chapter he tells a story from way back in the time of Thomas Jefferson. He and a group of men were traveling by horseback across the country. They were going to cross the Fox River in the morning. They are sitting in a tavern the night before.

One man says, “I hear the best way to cross the Fox River is to stay on one’s horse.”

Another guy says, “No, the best way is to walk your horse across.”

Another man says, “I heard it’s smarter to send a scout up river and a scout down river till you find the best spot – put a marker – and then come back and get the rest of the group.”

Another man said the smartest move is to build a raft.

On and on they talked till a famous trapper – Trapper William comes into the tavern. They all say, “Good thing you’re here Trapper William. We heard you crossed the Fox River many times. What’s the best way to cross the Fox River?”

Trapper William says, “From my experience I have learned the best way to cross the Fox River is not to cross it till you come to it.”

I read that story and said to myself. Yeah. Good. I get it.

Then, when I heard last Sunday that they would not have air conditioning here next Saturday and next Sunday, I found myself saying, “Don’t cross the river till you get to it.”

I said that because we had heard they were going to do this in June and it didn’t happen – and we were agitated a bit – worried about brides etc. and the heat at the later masses on Saturday and Sunday.

Without knowing it, I had incorporated that story into my repertoire. Then when I heard them say, “They’ll be no air conditioning here next Saturday, I found myself saying once more, “Don’t cross the river till you get to it.”

QUESTIONS

Will that story become part of my repertoire of the way I think – my spirituality – from now on? Time will tell.

Does all this just happen – and you can’t make it just happen? I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about this – that’s why I’m putting together this sermon.

TAKE TODAY’S FIRST READING: AN UNDERSTANDING HEART

Today’s first reading is a regular story that is found in many religions and world literature. You have one wish or three wishes. What will they be?

If you had one wish, what would you wish for?

To win the lottery? To have one of your kids who is messed up, to become straightened out – to retire – to get a job you love – to be free of cancer - what have you?

If you had one wish, and it would be granted, what would that wish be?

Solomon asks for the gift of an understanding heart – and because he didn’t ask for riches, a long life, and all those other things, God grants him his wish – along with riches and a long life. Amazing.

We too can have that wish – the understanding heart part – by wishing it, praying for it, and then working on having an understanding heart.

That same book by James Moore has a great story that can become part of our repertoire. It’s part of Steven Covey’s repertoire. As you know Steven Covey teaches folks how to use and manage their time and life better. [Cf. Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Leadership.]

He gets on a New York subway car – on a sort of quiet Sunday morning. There is peace and quiet in the train as it moves along. The train comes to a stop and this father walks in with all of his kids – and they proceed to do make all kinds of noise while moving around – disturbing the peace full time. The father says nothing. The people are all furious. Finally Steven Covey says to the father. “Do you realize your children are disturbing a lot of people?”

And the father says, “Yeah, you’re right. We just left the hospital. Their mother died an hour ago. I guess they are out of sorts and I am too.”

Steven Covey brought that story into his spiritual repertoire and uses it when he runs into an obnoxious person or a messy mess. Maybe I don’t know what happened to make this person or this situation this way.

Haven’t we used a story like that or the old Indian Saying, “Don’t judge a person till you walked a mile in their moccasins.”

For the same situation I have used in my mind – in my spiritual repertoire, the story of the Boston Strangler. I heard someone talk about his upbringing and then said, “If you knew what they did to him, you’d understand.”

TREASURE IN THE FIELD, THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE

Today’s gospel has three stories about treasures: the buried treasure in the field, the fishing net, and the pearl of great price.

Jesus tossed out all kinds of stories, parables, with the hope some of these stories will stick, will grow within us, will help us.

What are your stories?

Are all of us searching for the key – the one answer that will answer all other answers? Are we searching for meaning? What is the treasure we are looking for?

It’s the nature of a treasure to be hidden – that when we find it, everything is changed, and all other pursuits – pale in comparison. Jesus’ message in these stories is to keep searching.

The stories often have twists and turns – surprises and switches.

With regards treasure stories I have heard several stories that point out that we already have it, but we don’t know it.

There is the story of the Rabbi who is told in a dream to go to Krakow and under a bridge you’ll find a treasure under the north end of the bridge – so he leaves everything and heads for Krakow, goes under the bridge and starts looking. A bridge guard hears something going on down there and climbs down and finds the Rabbi. “What are you doing down here?” The Rabbi says sheepishly, “You’re not going to believe this, but I had a dream last night that there was a treasure under this bridge that I would find if I come here.” The guard laughs, “I had a dream last night that there is a house that has a Rabbi about 50 miles from here and if I go there I’ll find a treasure in his house in the wall behind his fire place.”

The Rabbi runs home. Sure enough. It was there all the time.

Jack Shea tells the same story about a high school teacher who gets 25 handkerchief boxes every Christmas from his students. He stopped unwrapping them, knowing them by size, shape and look, and he just tosses them into the shelf in his closet – and takes one out whenever he needs fresh handkerchiefs. Surprise he opens up a box and discovers this really expensive pocket watch inside – that might have been there for years.

You never know.

One more. My favorite treasure story is the story of the diamond that I must have used a dozen times already in sermons. There’s no problem with repetition. Jesus repeated himself over and over again. That’s the way this stuff sticks and becomes part of our spiritual repertoire.

A man is walking down a country road on a nice bright not too humid summer morning. Up ahead he spots a travelor in monk’s robes. He catches up with them and the two make small talk. “Nice day?” “How are you?” “Where are you from? Where are you headed.”

Near noon time the monk says to the traveler, “Are you hungry? I have some nice sandwiches?”
“Okay, good,” says the traveler.

The monk says there’s a nice spot just ahead that’s perfect and it has wonderful spring water.

They stop and there’s a nice clear stream of water down below. The monk opens up his back pack and takes out this gigantic diamond – as big as a tennis ball.

The stranger sees it and goes, "Wow!"

The monk takes out two cups and goes down to the water and brings back two cups of cold delicious water. Then he gives the stranger a sandwich.

The stranger says, “Is that a real diamond?”

“Yes,” says the monk. "I found it downstream this morning when I was having breakfast. Here, do you want it?”

The stranger says, “You’d give that to me?”

"Yes. Here it’s yours." So he gives the stranger the diamond.

Well with that the man couldn’t taste the sandwich or the water. All he could taste was the diamond – and in his mind he says, “The first fork in the road, whatever way he’s going, I’m going the other way.”

They finish lunch and start walking . They come to a crossroads and the stranger asks the monk, “Which way are you headed?”

The monk points to the right and the stranger says, “Well, I’m going ahead!”

They shake hands and go their separate ways.

A half mile down the road the stranger stops. He turns around. He runs back to the crossroads. He then heads after the monk. He catches him and hands him back the diamond saying, “Thanks for this treasure, but you have something even more valuable, the ability to let go of the diamond. Could you give me that.”

The monk says, “You got it.”

End of story.

You get the message, the meaning of the story, right? You got it.

CONCLUSION

Talk with each other about your stories – the stories in your repertoire that help your spirituality. You got them.