More than a Single Story
Stories play a crucial role in shaping our perceptions and understanding of the world around us. They help us make sense of our experiences and provide a framework for interpreting life events. Narratives are interconnected, influencing and shaping each other, leading to a complex web of meanings. By constructing narratives, we give our lives unity, purpose, and meaning. This narrative construction process is essential for creating a sense of continuity and coherence in our lives.
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Presentation Transcript
The importance of stories to make sense of experience is undisputed But for narratives to function and be meaningful they require interpretation; this applies as much to the narratives we share with others as it does to the Bible. Further, narratives are not created out of nothing, neither are they isolated. They influence one another, get absorbed into one another, contradict one another and compete with one another. Jocelyn Bryan
The events of our life, our interpretation of them, and what we feel about them are stored in narrative form in memory. But the interpretation of the story of our past is shaped by what we hope for and imagine in the future. We engage in this process of narrative construction to give our lives a sense of unity, purpose and meaning. Jocelyn Bryan
The Church has not always been good either at talking about mental health or supporting those with mental health challenges, and yet when we turn to Scripture we find it awash with the entire range of human experience yes, there is joy and succour in the great power of God, but there is also profound sorrow and depression. The reality of the suffering and pain that human beings experience is not avoided in Scripture, nor is it glossed over. It is accepted as a fact of life and a part of living as a human being. Justin Welby
In the Psalms, alongside joy, praise and thanksgiving, a very large proportion of the psalms express extreme negative emotions: sorrow, grief, anger, the desire for revenge, doubt, dark and persistent negative feelings, even the desire for life to end. Christopher Cook & Isabelle Hamley
Psalm 102 describes a man with weight loss, appetite disturbance, sleep disturbance, and social isolation (common signs and symptoms of depression), who turns to God seeking mercy for himself and for his nation... Stephen Grcevich
The Old Testament is a collection of texts shaped by pain and trauma: struggles for survival, war, slavery, exile and political oppression are ever present, and these texts weave together accounts of personal pain and trauma with the collective experience of Israel throughout history. Christopher Cook & Isabelle Hamley
And the New Testament is the Jesus lens through which the Holy Spirit leads us back through the Scripture, guiding us toward wholeness, not emotional selectivity.
So much of our depression and pain rises to the surface during the holidays for two big reasons: We are fighting the pull of the single story We are feeling the back sting of our traditions.
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. Psalm 139.1-4 (Psalm 139.1-4)
You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain! Psalm 139.5-6
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9.2, 6
This Advent Season Take time to Breathe (in Worship) Encourage (one another) Reflect (in sincere devotion) Hope (in the Coming of the Lord)
