What’s the Story? (2)

 

“Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

                                                                                                            (Matthew 18:4)

 

I. Required readings

 

Psalm 25

Micah 6:1-8

Matthew 18:1-6; 25:31-46

Philippians 2:1-11

 

Christian Biography for the Day: Mother Teresa of Calcutta

 

Chittister, Chapter 5 (“Humility: The Lost Virtue”), 51-66

 

Neil Postman, “Informing Ourselves to Death.”

 

II. Quotation for the day

 

“Humility is facing the truth. It is useful to remind myself that the word itself comes from humus, earth, and in the end simply means that I allow myself to be earthed in the truth that lets God be God, and myself his creature. If I hold on to this it helps prevent me from putting myself at the center, and instead allows me to put God and other people at the center.”
            --Esther de Waal, Living with Contradiction

 

III. Journal prompts

 

1. All of us probably have a tendency to tell a story about ourselves in which we are the center of the universe (or at least “our” universe).  While this is arguably a common human tendency, are there aspects of contemporary society that heighten this posture?  Or asked in other terms, in what ways does American culture encourage us to be self-centered rather than humble?

 

2.  Chittister offers us a rather robust account of humility.  As you read her chapter, what lessons about humility and its place in the Christian life did you learn?

 

3. What do you make of Postman’s argument about the role of information in human life?  Do you think he is right that most of the things we really care about, as well as most of the major problems in the world, do not hinge on the presence (or absence) of more information?

 

 

IV. Links of possible interest

 

Everyone seems to agree that humans are storytellers.  In fact, it’s difficult to overstate the influence of stories on the shape of our lives, for in some sense, we all find ourselves living out and living into some story (or stories).  Below are a variety of voices, all of which convincingly attest to the indispensable role that stories play in human life.

  

Robert G. Trache, Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost  (July 1998), St. James’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, VA.  A powerful sermon on the role of stories in the Christian life.

 

Alice Morgan, “What is Narrative Therapy?”  An easy-to-read introduction to this sub-field within counseling and therapy that takes seriously the stories people have learned to tell about themselves and others.

 

"John Launer on Narrative-Based Medicine."  A brief overview of the growing interest in the roll of narrative in the medical profession.


 

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