Faces on Faith: Tell me some of your story
Oscar Wilde was known for lots of aphorisms but here’s one of my favorites: It’s what you read when you don’t have to — that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.
Hmmm. I love that. But there’s a problem.
According to an Economist poll taken in 2023, most Americans don’t read books anymore. The numbers are astonishing: 46% of us finished zero books that year and 5% read just one.
Last week I was riding the MARTA train in Atlanta and sat across from a young 20-something who had a book opened on his lap. As many times as I’ve ridden the MARTA I’ve never seen anyone reading a book. Most are looking at their phones; others have earbuds and are listening to music. But this young guy was reading a book.
The size of his book got my attention, too. Big and thick. I glanced over and got a better look: it was “The Odyssey” by Homer.
“Excuse me,” I said, “but I think it’s amazing you’re reading ‘The Odyssey’ on this train!”
“You do?” he responded.
“You bet. In fact, I think it’s amazing you’re reading anything at all!”
“Well,” he smiled, “I love to read, and I try to grab any minutes I can to do it. And since the film version of ‘The Odyssey’ just came out — I thought I’d re-read the epic before I watched the movie.”
This is my kind of guy, I thought, and I immediately wished I had more time to visit with him — to climb into his story a bit more. But, alas, we had just a few minutes.
One of the things that excites me most about coming to the Captiva’s historic Chapel by the Sea in November is the privilege I’ll have as a pastor to share time with folks and learn about their story.
In fact, in my pastoral ministry, one of my favorite opening questions is very simple: Tell me a bit of your story. Start wherever you want, tell me whatever you want — but tell me a bit of your story.
We all have a story, of course. And each of ours is not only personal but unique. There’s nobody else that has your story. Not your mom or dad, not your spouse or children. Nobody has your story.
And yet in another way the details of our stories may be different — but the landscape of our stories is the same. That is, it won’t take too long before our stories overlap in some way.
Well, you might be wondering: What does all this talk about “story” have to do with reading books?
Ah, I’m glad to tell you. This summer I taught a class at a Presbyterian Conference Center called Ghost Ranch in the high Mesa country of New Mexico, about an hour north of Santa Fe.
In preparation for the week we had together, I invited my class of 35 to read John Bunyan’s classic book, an allegory titled, “The Pilgrim’s Progress” — written while he was in prison in England and published in 1678.
I wonder if you’ve heard of it?
For two hundred years or so, “Pilgrim’s Progress” ranked as the second most popular book in America — second only to the Bible.
I titled my class: Pilgrim’s Progress: You’re Story, Too?
I encourage you to go to wikipedia and find a summary of the book. I’d also suggest you check out an audio play/broadcast put out by the BBC. It’s like hearing an old radio play and it’s brilliantly done. You can listen to a sample at https://share.google/houwDfZ88ESwLjyro.
My hope is that the sample might prompt you to pick up the actual book — and consider this question: Is “The Pilgrim’s Progress” my story, too? For me, the answer is a resounding yes.
Here’s an idea: call me in November when I arrive at the Chapel By the Sea. If you tell me some of your story, I’ll tell you mine. I’m confident that ours will overlap in ways that are remarkable.
And one of the great blessings from doing so? Our friendship will deepen. And our sense of how faith and life intersect might be awakened. OK, I’ll sweeten the pot: I’ll buy coffee!
See you in November!
The Rev. Dr. Jim Miller is the pastor at the Captiva Chapel by the Sea.