Lenten Meditations: April 11

“The best arguments in the world won’t change a person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story.”

 – from The Overstory by Richard Powers

Reflection

Humans are rationalizing creatures; we can often explain our actions and reactions through an internal series of justifications. This also means that we are not always rational or logical. We can easily twist and bend in the face of arguments to suit our own desires.

But we cannot escape stories. We are story-telling and story-receiving beings that explain our own pasts and futures through stories. The way we live our lives and interact with ourselves and communities tells everyone around us a story. We are living, breathing, embodied stories.

What story are you telling?

In this season of reflection and healing, how can we each individually and together pay attention to the stories we are living? How can we live stories of love, forgiveness, compassion, and joy?

Prayer

God of many names and voices, rescue us from our arguments and dwell lovingly in our stories. Amen.