Tips
for good story telling during the reflection on the readings in
the Liturgy.
· Some personal detail makes the story interesting; too much detail makes the story boring.
· Don’t try to prepare a homily; don’t give a sermon.
· Have two people share reflections during each Liturgy.
· Keep it short, but unrushed. (Everybody who has sat in pews should know the danger of long sermons. Don’t fall into that clerical trap, for goodness sake.
An additional bonus: People who try this method inevitably find it easy. It catches people’s attention and it works. It is easy because it is a natural and satisfying thing for us to share part of our life story. Try it.
An Example: Sunday, 20 February 2000 Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Mark 2:1-12 The healing of the paralysed man who was let down
through the roof.
A Focus Point: Jesus forgives.
Reflection: I have been in the situation, and I presume all of us have at one time or another, when I said the wrong thing to a person. Afterwards I felt regret at having said it and uncomfortable with the prospect of my next meeting with that person. Summoning up courage I decided to say “I’m sorry for having said that” the next time I saw the person. I did just that. The person said: “Oh, that’s OK – I hardly noticed it”. After this simple exchange I felt considerably relieved, free, relaxed and at peace. (This story could have been more interesting if it had described a precise incident. But even so, it “worked”!)
The gospel is similar but also different. Even without being asked Jesus offers forgiveness and the man who was paralysed walks home free.
As the opening prayer in today’s liturgy says: Loving God, help us to be like Jesus in word and deed.
Sharing Stories
Caroline Jones writes in an article in The Age on Good Friday (The Age, 21 April 2000):
“A person’s own lived experience is truth. Everyone has a life story. In a just and humane society there should be room for everyone’s story to be told and to be heard, with respect and compassion. From the warp and weft of all the stories, the society is woven.”
This connects with the suggested method of sharing reflections after the gospel: Start with a brief outline of an experience in your own life which can illustrate some aspect of a focus point in the gospel. Tell your story and develop the connection with the gospel focus point. It is better if two or three people do this at each liturgy. So each person needs to be brief in speaking.
We might say that from the stories told in relation to the gospel, with the Spirit of Jesus, a Christian community is born.
The sharing at our community gatherings could be an important part of such a process.
Perhaps prompted by what has been shared during the liturgy, a less formal and more extensive sharing of stories could well happen after the Liturgy outside the church building if the weather is fine. Even though not recognised officially, in fact such sharing has always been a very important part of the Sunday Gathering in many rural Catholic communities.