Telling The Story

Today's "Telling the Story" is inspired by the gospel reading for the Sunday of the Final Judgement, found in St. Matthew's gospel chapter 25 and verses 31-46. I wonder sometimes - what would it be like if the goats were given the opportunity to appeal God's decision about their eternal destiny? Today's "Telling the Story" is entitled "Goat's Testimony."

Today's "Telling the Story" is inspired by the gospel reading for the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, found in St. Luke's gospel chapter 15 and verses 11-32. When I read this story, I often find myself identifying with the older brother, even though I see him as the most pathetic character in the story. Today's "Telling the Story," entitled "The Older Son," is written (in a contemporary setting) from his perspective.

Today's "Telling the Story" is inspired by the gospel reading for the first Sunday of the Triodion, St. Luke's gospel chapter 18 and verses 10-14, the story of the Publican and the Pharisee. As I occasionally like to do, I imagine what it would be like to hear this story told in a contemporary context, and so today's "Telling the Story" is entitled "Deacon and the Tax Cheat."

Today's "Telling the Story" is inspired by the gospel reading for the feast of the Meeting of our Lord, sometimes called the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, found in St. Luke's gospel chapter 2 and verses 22-40. I tried to give Anna the prophetess a voice in today's "Telling the Story," which is entitled "Anna."

Today's "Telling the Story" is inspired by the gospel reading for the 15th Sunday of Luke, found in St. Luke's gospel chapter 19 and verses 1-10, the story of the tax collector Zacchaeus. Sometimes when we have a moment of enlightenment such as Zacchaeus had, it is quickly followed by opposition and testing, as it says in Hebrews 10:32 - - Brethren, recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. Today's "Telling the Story" is entitled "Zacchaeus' Wife."

Today's "Telling the Story" is inspired by the gospel reading for the twelfth Sunday of Luke, found in St. Luke's gospel chapter 17 and verses 12-19, the story of the ten healed lepers. Only one of them, you may remember, thanked Jesus for healing him. I imagine what it would be like to ask the lepers why they neglected to thank Jesus in today's "Telling the Story" entitled "Ten Lepers."

Today's "Telling the Story" is inspired by the gospel reading for the Sunday after Theophany, found in St. Matthew's gospel chapter 4 and verses 12-17, the part of the gospel about the arrest of John the Baptist and the Lord's journey to, as it says, the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. St Matthew tells us that He went there to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, that the light would come from that specific part of Galilee. I reflect on this, using the place as a diving board and the concept of light as spiritual knowledge as the pool in today's "Telling the Story," entitled, "Galilee of the Gentiles."

Today's "Telling the Story" is inspired by the gospel reading for the Sunday before Theophany, found in St. Mark's gospel chapter 1 and verses 1-8, the story of the baptism of our Lord. I've tried as much as I can to give a voice to the water itself, and so today's "Telling the Story" is entitled "Water."

Today's "Telling the Story" is inspired by the gospel reading for the Sunday after the Nativity, found in St. Matthew's gospel chapter 2 and verses 13-23, the passage which includes the stories of the Flight to Egypt and the Slaughter of the Innocents. Not everything about the Nativity is happy, and so today's "Telling the Story" is entitled "The Sweater."

Today's "Telling the Story" is inspired by the gospel reading for Sunday before the Nativity, found in St. Matthew's gospel chapter 1 and verses 1-25. This passage begins with the long genealogy of our Lord, which I enjoy reading each year. Who are all these people, I wonder, and what would it be like to meet them, the ancestors of our Lord? Today's "Telling the Story" is entitled "The Room of Unfamiliar People."