.bubble forth.

It is not a coincidence that one of the literary forms used in the Prophets of the Old Testament is narrative.

One word for prophet in the OT is "nabi," which literally means 'to bubble forth'... another way of looking at it is as a 'truth-teller,' someone who speaks the Truth(s) of God to a misguided and beloved people.

prophets=truth-tellers
narrative= story-telling
Prophets wrote narrative.

Our story-telling is an act of truth-telling, an act of prophecy. When we speak the Truth(s) of our life, we are invoking the Holy to be present in that act because it is God who helped fashion that story. Stories can be a life saving act, as so many of the prophets proved, even when the message was delivered with tough love. On several occasions, when prophets were called by God, God assured them that She would speak through them.

"Do not say,'I am just a child,'... I will put words in your mouth." (Jer. 1).

The stories we have to tell are full of Truth and strength, resilience and love, faith and doubt, lost and found, peace and anguish. They speak honestly of our experience and look boldly to the future. They give us a way to connect with others and bring new life to the lifeless. They are an entry point to relationships and a way to dig deeper into others' lives.

Stories are connection. Stories are truth. Stories are hope.

Tell yours and be not ashamed, for others may be carrying the same joy and/or burden.

.gather.

Seminary cannot be done outside of community. Period.

Here's the deal. I have an ethics paper due tomorrow. Yesterday I met with a friend to talk about the case study we were reading so as to figure out how to identify key points and then construct an argument. Our first task is to identify the main question or problem.  I had proposed what I thought the answer was, but the other person did not agree.

Sidenote: This is new territory for me. I have never taken an ethics class before and it is rare for me to make a solid, logical argument. Though this class is daunting, I have not doubt in its ability to help me in the long run. After all, our professor said on the first day of class that his job was to help us be able to make an argument and not sound like a moron. Perfect.

So my friend and I are sitting out on the quad at PSR and next thing you know, someone else from our class walks up and sits down to talk it out. Half an hour later, another classmate walks up and starts chatting about the case and his opinions about it. Before you know it we are breaking down the case in a way which we could all understand. At the end of the conversation, we felt as though we successfully defined the key issue at hand. To my satisfaction, it was in fact the originally question I posed. And while I relished in that moment for a brief time, I recognized that all the conversation that happened in between was ultimately beneficial to my understanding of the text.

Without that conversation, this paper would have been hell.


"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them..." (matt. 18:20)

"It is an error to isolate oneself... If God dos not call one to solitude, one must life with God in the multitude, make [God] known there and make [God] loved."(raisa maritain)