Let us pray: Heavenly Father: send us your Holy Spirit to open our ears to hear your preached Word. Comfort us by your Word. Help us to learn the stories in your Word and to tell them to others. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Author Sam Chan in his book ‘Evangelism in a Skeptical World’ suggests there are two main types of learners: (a) abstract, and (b) concrete-relational. Abstract learners prefer to read and learn from points. Concrete-relational learners are hands on, they prefer to listen or watch (they’d choose a movie over a book), and they tend to like stories. Now there’s no right or wrong way to learn, and no person is just one type or the other. But this categorization is a helpful approximation. About half of Westerners prefer concrete-relational learning (and about 90% of non-Westerners). The Bible gives us books suited for each learning style. For example the New Testament letters tend to be more abstract, whereas the stories in the Old Testament and the Gospel accounts are more concrete-relational.
Telling Bible stories is one of the many ways we can share our faith with others. It is one tool in our toolbox. Importantly, storytelling is a concrete-relational way of teaching and learning. So how does this work? How do we share our faith by telling a Bible story?
Step 1: Learn a Bible story. Read it a number of times. Read it in a few different Bible translations (e.g. ESV, NLT, The Message). Try to say it without looking at the words. Practice telling it aloud or in front of the mirror, then tell it to another (trusted or safe) person.
Step 2: Introduce the story. You might be with someone, and then the opportunity arises to share your faith through a story. You might be visiting someone in hospital, or having coffee and talking about life. You might say something like: “Hey, can I tell you a story from the Bible? I think it helps explain what I believe and it relates to what you were saying. After I tell the story, we can talk about it.”
Step 3: Tell the story.
- Keep it simple: use appropriate language the hearer is familiar with, feel free to abbreviate some of the details.
- Be accurate: simplify, but don’t add things to embellish the story.
- Make it memorable: tell it in an interesting way with hand gestures and facial expressions.
Step 4: Talk about the story together. Here are five questions:
- What stood out? (Note: this is open-ended and non-threatening).
- Do you have any questions? (Note: also open-ended).
- What do you think is the main point of the story? (Stories communicate points without explicitly saying them).
- What does it teach about people (including you) and God?
- If this story is true, how might you live differently?
Let’s do it! I’m going to tell you our assigned Gospel reading, then we’ll talk about the five questions. Read this good news story out aloud, and as you listen, imagine the scene in your mind.
Jesus left his home region of Galilee and went toward the region of Tyre and Sidon. [This was a region bordering the sea where the Canaanites lived, who were ancient enemies of the Israelite people]. Now get this: he had hardly arrived when a Canaanite woman came down from the hills. She came to him and pleaded, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! A demon is tormenting my daughter. She is suffering badly.” But Jesus didn’t say a word to her.
The disciples came and complained to him. “Her shouting and cries are bothering us. Please send her away and deal with her!”
But Jesus simply answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
Then the woman fell on her knees in front of him. “Lord, help me!”
He answered, “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to their pet dogs.”
She was quick, saying, “Yes, Lord. But even the dogs eat crumbs that fall from their owners’ table.”
Jesus said, “Oh, woman, you have great faith! Let it be for you as you want.” And her daughter was healed that very hour.
(a) So as you heard or read the story, what stood out to you? There were two things that stood out for me: Firstly, was the reference to dogs. We often think of Jesus as loving and caring and kind, but here he seems to refuse to help this woman and then insults her by calling her a “dog”! She’s a descendent of the Canaanites who were the enemies of Israel. When Moses tells the people how God wants them to enter the Promised Land, he says, “God has delivered [seven] nations over to you [one of which was the Canaanites]. You must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.” (Deuteronomy 7:1–2). So for the ancient Israelite people, Canaanites were “dogs.” A pet dog rolls over in submission. Dogs are unclean and disgusting: they sniff each other’s bottoms and eat scraps. An Israelite did not show mercy to a Canaanite. Secondly, what stood out to me were the cries of this marginalized woman. “Have mercy on me, Lord.” “Lord, help me.” These are the cries of a desperate mother. And she’s bold and brazen; she won’t take no for answer. One who lacks mercy, is desperate and pleads for mercy.
(b) Do you have any questions? I didn’t know where Tyre and Sidon were, so I looked them up on a map.
(c) What’s the main point of the story? (You might like to re-read or re-tell the story again at this point). It’s interesting that, on the surface, the story is about a mother of a sick daughter and her healing. But that’s not really the main point of the story, is it? For example, the story of the boy who cried wolf is not really about a wolf, but about telling the truth. For me the meaning of this story is that Jesus helps desperate people. Jesus helps people who are labeled or think they are “dogs.” God’s grace was first for the family of Abraham. But Jesus crosses over this family boundary, he helps even ancient enemies, people supposedly outside of God’s family, the marginalized and desperate. Jesus helps those with a faith which simply says, “Lord, have mercy.”
(d) What does this story teach about people and yourself? We are people who like to categorize and label others. There’s that “high school dropout.” There’s the “alcoholic” next door. Those “refugees.” There’s that “dog.” That “Canaanite woman.” There’s that <insert label or insult here>. And sometimes we are labelled. Have you ever been labelled?
What does this story teach about God? Perhaps it teaches that Jesus listens, even though at times he does not say anything. And that Jesus does help the desperate. I think this story teaches that God’s compassion extends to everyone. Yes, God’s mercy is available to all people. In fact, Jesus was labelled a “dog” himself — he was crucified on a cross as a criminal, cursed, degraded, made to submit. But God raised him from the dead, and honored him — now he is at the head of the table and master of the banquet.
(e) If this story is true, how might you live different? (You might like to re-read or re-tell the story again at this point). First, for all the people who feel like a “dog” or labelled as someone who belongs under the table — Jesus says that God’s mercy is for you, too. For all of those who have been silenced and ignored, for the voiceless and oppressed, this story says to keep on crying out to the Lord for mercy. “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, help me!” You do belong in God’s house. You will receive mercy through Jesus. God’s mercy is abundant, and even the crumbs and scraps are enough to bring life-changing healing. Second, for all of us who might label or name people, we are challenged that name calling is the not the way of God. Even those people who we might consider “dogs” (those people “below” us, people we disagree with, difficult people who bother us, those people we hate or consider “enemies”) they too are children of God who need mercy. Is there someone or some group you feel doesn’t deserve God’s mercy? Is God challenging your conception about who is welcome? Jesus says that even the supposed “dogs” deserve crumbs from the table! Who will show mercy to this week?
Challenge: My challenge to you this week is to practice telling this story. Say it out aloud a few times. Practice it with your family or friends. And perhaps one day soon, God will bring an opportunity into your life for you share your faith. Maybe you’ll come across someone who is desperate and you can tell them this story. You can tell them that Jesus is ready and waiting to grant mercy to those who think or feel they are under the table. And you’ll be able to say, “Hey, can I tell you a story from the Bible? It helps explain what I believe, and it might help you too.” What conversation will unfold as you tell the good news story?! Amen.
