Festival of Homiletics, 2015 – Denver Colorado
Day Two Part Two
After Nadia, I traveled to the third venue for the festival, St. John’s Lutheran Church (which is also a Catholic Church, oddly enough. A move that indicates in some spots community is beginning to overcome history and long standing animosity. There is hope.) The speaker this time was listed as Don Davis, storyteller.
I went, frankly with low expectations. I’ve heard and always appreciate storytellers. But also feel like I know what storytelling is about. So, I went not expecting to learn and even to greatly enjoy, but it was the best on offer at that time. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes, Don started with a story that was good, but not overwhelming. But then he began to explore with us how stories happen.
His title was “Our Stories tell us who we are: An experience in discovering our own stories and some ways of using them in proclamation settings.” A bit clumsy, I thought, and not gripping. But after his story he told us of the need to stock our kitchen with the makings of stories so that when it came time to cook we had a full pantry. By that he meant get the bones of the stories and have them ready. And the bones he argued were not plots, not the what happened. He says our education establishment is “plot obsessed” and that we are trained to reduce every story to just the action. But stories don’t begin with action. They begin with people and with places.
Four “P’s” to storytelling, and plot isn’t one of them. Make a list of people and places. When you walk around the places the stories “raise their hands and beg to be told.” When you remember the people you remember who they were with you, and the stories are told. The third P is problem. Without trouble, Don says, there is no story. Now it isn’t always bad things. How many of you got married, he asked, how many have children? That’s trouble that we choose. And I thought of all the stories I’ve told of receiving and raising those kids. Trouble, it’s a good word.
But the final P is one we often forget. He called it a Progress Report. What did you learn in this story, from this person, in this place that you wouldn’t have learned in any other way? No matter how terrible or wonderful the moment. How did you grow? Progress report.
Then he spoke about biblical stories and how they neglect three of the P’s. He says they aren’t good on people and places because they figure everyone knows them, we get names but no descriptions. We don’t really know either well, he argues. And he says too often, especially with Jesus’ stories, there is no progress report. That was done on purpose, he argued, because we are to finish the stories. Did the elder brother ever go in? Did the Samaritan return and pay and did the beaten man ever meet his rescuer? I see his point and while I may argue a few details, I agree and was entranced by his presentation. Which wasn’t even his best of the day.
Then it was lunch and I met up with Nathan, the associate pastor from St Joe there in Fort Wayne. A long way to go for lunch. But it was good to catch up.
After lunch I went to the wrong venue and didn’t want to hear the speaker, so instead I went and found a plug to charge my phone for a while. But then hurried back to hear Don Davis for his second session. This time in the United Methodist Church, he shared the stage with Rabbi Ben Romer who has served as a military chaplain for more than twenty years. His stories were about crossing boundaries. About interfaith. He says interfaith dialog is about being strong enough in your own faith to set aside some of your language so you can listen to the other, and help them on their journey.
Don Davis took the stage afterwards and used his allotted time to tell one long convoluted story that was just masterful and gripping, funny and poignant, and in the end about hospitality, about welcoming the stranger and about Christ appearing in the strangest of places through the least expected of people. To even attempt to give you bits from the story would be to demean the power of story and the gift of Don Davis. Suffice it to say, I was in awe.
After a dinner break and shuttle ride back to the hotel and then back to the venue. I ended the night with worship and more stories. Don Davis told two stories, again was captivating. My favorite part was the role of the ex-vet from the Cincinnati Zoo who settled in the little town where Don was pastor, and the unorthodox way the vet had of neutering 20 some cats owned by the crazy lady in town. Nuff said.
But the sermon in our closing worship was preached by Dr Walter Brueggemann. A venerable Old Testament scholar with immense reputation and an irascible demeanor. His text was Matthew 11:25-30, “I thank the Father that you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.” And then proceeded to call us both wise and intelligent and therefore not privy to the understandings of God, and babies asking us to remember what it is that we know. He said we need to stop trying to figure everything out and just be followers and imitators. That sometimes our plans get in the way, our knowledge gets in the way. And we just need to trust more.
The other interesting dimension to the worship is that besides the sermon and scripture ready, the rest of the service was sung. Prayers, liturgy, everything was sung. It was beautiful and different. There is a bluegrass feel to the Festival this year. Not sure whether Colorado is considered a bluegrass state, but it does permeate much of the worship here this week. And it kinda catchy, I must say.
Another great day in Denver.
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