Humans love stories. We do. We love to be captivated and motivated by the stories of sages, of poets, and of comedians (Siendfeld for me!). More than this, we love to use stories to communicate morals and what the "good life" looks like. This is the core of childhood. As the holidays are fast approaching, this is no more clearly portrayed than in the story of Santa. Want a present? Be a good kid! Morals communicated in fantasy. Even as adults, although not as cognizantly, we are molded by the stories around us. The movies we watch, the books we read, the (lived) biographies of those near and far shape us. That is why so many of us want to do house exchanges around the holidays - thank you Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet!
I want to be shaped by another story. The story of Jesus clearing the temple. And no, the moral of this story is not to see flipping tables as a proper way to get out aggression, though probably super satisfying! Rather, in this story, Jesus invites us to participate in the story of God's presence with humanity. Jesus invites his disciples to enjoy real intimacy with God that extends to all people. In the end, Jesus teaches us three things: 1) that we live in the space of God's presence with us, 2) that we should have faith that can move mountains, and 3) have prayer lives rooted in forgiveness. If we are shaped by this story, and truly live into the reality of which it speaks, our lives will be changed forever.
