The Bible Story Retold

Prayers and Verses – how this book can work together with The Bible Story Retold

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Today, I am sharing some more extracts from my new book, which is due for publication next Friday, 17th June (UK), and September 28th (USA and Canada).  The Bible Retold is also available on Kindle.

I thought I would show you how this book of prayers could be used alongside  The Bible Retold – the two books can be read independently, of course, but I hope you will see that they could be quite helpful, powerful even, read together.  I am drawing some examples from the second chapter.  In the retelling, this chapter covers most of the well known stories from the later part of the Bible book of Genesis

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The story opens with Abram setting out on a journey, called away from all he had known before.  The prayers focus on our new beginnings, on uncertain ways, on “Life’s journey”.

From The Bible Story Retold:

Abraham took one last look behind him at the great city of Ur, with its narrow, crowded streets, and cool buildings made of hard-baked mud.   It was his birthplace, but it would no longer be his home. His father was leaving for the distant land of Canaan, and Abraham was going with him.  So they set off, with Abraham’s wife Sarah, who was childless, and his nephew Lot, who was an orphan. When they had travelled as far as Haran, they stopped and settled: their dreams of reaching Canaan fading with the passing years.

“Get up! It’s time to go!” God said to Abraham.

From Prayers and Verses:

As Abraham set off for an unknown land, so we begin each day, and each journey, knowing you are with us. Bless us on our way, and make us a blessing to those we meet.
Dear God, Help me to find the right way to go, even though the gate to it be narrow, and the path difficult to walk.

As the retelling of Genesis continues, we encounter squabbles and rivalry, deceit and betrayal in the families whose story we are following.  The prayers turn to our own families, how we can live together with love, peacefully.

From The Bible Story Retold:

Esau boiled with anger against his brother. He fumed and stormed among the tents.  “As soon as my father is dead, Jacob will be a dead man, too!” he roared.  Rebecca heard him, and urged Jacob to flee to his uncle Laban’s lands.  Isaac blessed him again before he left, and told him to find a wife among his Laban’s family.

He went alone, travelling until it was dark.  Shivering in the chill of a desert night, he took a stone for a pillow, and lay down to sleep.  As Jacob slept, a dream came to him.  He saw a ladder, with its feet on the ground, stretching up and up to heaven.  In his dream, he watched as God’s bright angels travelled up and down it between heaven and earth.  And in his dream, God himself was there.

From Prayers and Verses

Help us, like Jacob, dream of angels.
Help us, wherever we wake,
know that you are there, too.
Help us to see with new eyes.

 

I give thanks for the people who are my home: we share a place to shelter; we share our food; we share our times of work and play and rest.
May we provide one another with love, encouragement, respect, and wisdom: through laughter and celebration, through tears and troubled times.
May we be to one another roof and walls, floor and hearth, windows and doors.

 

Dear God,
Give us the courage
to overcome anger
with love.

 

I hope these extracts give you a little flavour of how the stories can flow into prayers.
If it helps, please do use them, saying where they are from.

The faith of a Roman

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This Sunday’s readings include a story from Luke’s gospel, of faith in an unexpected place.  The Romans were an occupying force in Israel, and a centurion was a military officer enforcing Roman rule.  It is good to see how Luke records this example of God being at work in unexpected people.  In that category we find not only the Roman centurion – but also  the Jewish elders.  They can recognise that this man, an “unclean” gentile, outside their own people and laws, is “worthy”.  Often the religious leaders seem narrow, legalistic, small-minded even, but not in this instance.  They see something good, and they speak it.  The centurion’s support of their synagogue might be genuine interest in their faith, it might be good politics, but he is honoured whichever it is.

It is good to look about, and see God at work in unexpected people.

Below you will find my telling, in an extract from The Bible Story Retold
If it is of help to you, please feel free to use it, saying where it is from.
The gospel reading is Luke 7:1-10

 

The centurion stood with his hands behind his back, watching his most loyal servant’s dry lips as they moved without sound.
“That’s enough!” he said to those who were trying to coax him to drink, and they slipped back, away from the couch.  For a moment the centurion leaned down, his ear close to the man’s mouth, but his breath was growing fainter.  He was near death. The centurion strode out to the courtyard and looked up at the road.  He saw Jesus in the distance, with his followers behind.  Quickly, he spoke to the Jewish elders who stood by the gate, and they turned and walked towards Jesus.

“Rabbi,” they said “we come to see you at the request of the Roman centurion stationed here.” The crowds watched Jesus carefully – what would he do?  For the Roman soldiers were an occupying force.  They were the enemy. “As you know, this Centurion has treated us kindly, paying for our synagogue.  Now his servant is very ill, and he asks for you to heal him.”  Jesus did not hesitate.  He quickened his pace into Capernaum. As he came close to the army garrison, the centurion’s friend came out with a message. “Sir, the centurion sends you this message: ‘Please don’t trouble to come into my home. Just say the word, and my servant will be well.  I’m a man of authority.  I give orders, and they are obeyed.  I know you, too, are a man of authority – at your command, the illness will leave.’”

Jesus stopped, and turned around to those following.  “Do you hear that?” he asked “I haven’t found such faith in all of Israel!”  Then, as the friend returned to the garrison, they all heard shouts of joy, and laughter.  For the servant had been healed.

The Spirit Comes

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We celebrate Pentecost this weekend, and the story continues its extraordinary movement outwards.  Last week, it was Ascension, when the disciples were still thinking in terms of their own people, and Jesus showed them an ever widening perspective (Acts 1:6-8).
Now, we see how God continues to open and include.  It seems that all those gathered together (1:14-15) were part of the great outpouring of the Spirit, and the impact on the listeners suggests God was at work beyond even those.  The barriers between us of race, gender, nationality, language, youth and age, are being broken down, moving us towards a deep unity (Col 1:17, Gal 3:28). No wonder the whole house was filled with a great sound! This is powerful and much needed work.

We notice how the barrier of language is overcome.  We notice that God’s priority is not to change the listeners so they can understand, but change the words (and the speakers) so people can hear – directly, in a way that makes sense to them as they are.
The words are an overflow of joy.

Below is my version of the story, from The Bible Story Retold

If you wish to use it this weekend, please do, saying where it is from.  I hope it helps.

 

From the fields it came: the first sheaf of barley cut for that year’s harvest.  It was carried high through streets crammed with visitors, and on to the Temple. And then the priest offered it to God, giving thanks for the good land, and for the gift of harvest. For that day was the celebration of the first fruits.  It was Pentecost.

Meanwhile, the disciples were all together, waiting.  Then, suddenly, it began.  It stared with sound – a sound like the wind – but this was no gentle harvest breeze.  This was a shaking and a roaring: a sound of power, whooshing and howling about the house, rattling every door and shutter.  The sound seemed to come down from heaven itself, and filled the house as the wind fills sails.  Then, the disciples watched wide-eyed as something that looked like fire came down, and tongues of flame peeled off it and rested on each of them without burning them.  All of them were filled, for the Holy Spirit had come.  And as it happened, their tongues were loosened, and they began to speak as the Spirit gave them words.  These words were not Aramaic, their own language, but in languages that were unknown to them.
A crowd had gathered by the house because of the extraordinary sound, but then they heard voices. There were pilgrims in Jerusalem from all over the known world, and they recognized the words the disciples were speaking.
“He’s talking Egyptian!” said one.
“That one’s talking my language,” said a visitor from Crete – and the same was true for all.  Each person heard God’s praises in their own tongue.
“What can it mean?” they asked each other.  But others among the crowd joked that the disciples had been drinking.
The Twelve heard what they were saying, so Simon Peter stood up to speak to the crowds.
“Listen, I’ll tell you what’s happening.  We’re not drunk! It’s too early in the day for that! This is God’s promise come true.  Do you remember what one of the prophets wrote long ago?
I’ll pour out my Spirit on everyone – young and old.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
young men will have visions, and old men dreams.
All who follow me – men and women – will
be given my Spirit, and there will be wonders!

Bless you this weekend, and always.

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Seeing what the Father does

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One of this Sunday’s readings is an account of a healing, stopping short of the controversy that follows.  Retellings have to be more concise, so my version below sketches it out – another example of people missing the point.  The religious leaders were so concerned about policing sabbath observance, making sure law was kept, that they overlooked the astonishing things that were right before their eyes –  healing, and mercy.
What Jesus says in response outrages his listeners, and as we reach the end of the exchange we come to one of those extraordinary phrases of Jesus that stop you short, and stay with you, changing the way you see things.
He is doing what he sees the father do…
If we pay attention to what Jesus does, we might learn something of God’s heart.
It’s helpful to remember that the Greek word we translate disciple – mathetes – means both pupil and apprentice.  I am drawn to the idea of apprenticeship – of watching and making fumbling first attempts to imitate.  It is an adventure, and I am still working out what it means.
(John 5).

The extract below is from my retelling, The Bible Story Retold, published by Lion.  Also available here and your local bookshop.

One sabbath, Jesus was in Jerusalem.  He came to the pool of Bethesda, which means “House of Mercy”.  The pool, with its steep steps, was surrounded by covered colonnades. Under their shade lay many who were sick, waiting to enter the water when it welled up, for they believed that the water could heal them.  Jesus went and sat down by one man, and asked him “Do you want to be healed?”
“Sir, there’s no one to help me down into the pool.  I’ve been an invalid for 38 years.  How can I reach the water?”
So Jesus said, “Just get up! Take your mat and walk away!” – and he did so.
Some teachers of the Law stopped him. “What do you think you’re doing, carrying a mat on the sabbath?  Don’t you know that’s work, and forbidden?” And the man told them what had happened.  How angry they were at Jesus – a sabbath-breaker, they called him.
“My Father is always at work, so I, too, am working!” Jesus said.  The teachers of the Law gasped, shocked.  He was talking as if he were God’s equal!
“I don’t do anything by myself,” Jesus went on. “I see what my Father is doing and do the same!”

I hope it helps.  If you wish to use this reading, please say where it is from.

The Spirit and the Centurion

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Today’s reading (Acts 10) is strange and beautiful.  It is no accident we start with an account of Cornelius the Centurion’s vision – we see first that God is at work among people considered outsiders, people who did not follow the rules.  It is after the angel appears to the Roman that Peter has his vision, and that vision challenges his idea of the centrality of the Law. To begin with, he saw a temptation to be resisted.  It took time to see that God was inviting him to a more inclusive, more generous understanding.  God is expanding the categories, again and again.  The Spirit is moving, freely.  It was hard for Peter to keep up – but he sees what God is doing, and his response, in the end, is to accept these new brothers and sisters.

The extract is from The Bible Story Retold
If you would like to use it, please feel free, mentioning the source.

Cornelius the centurion had been watching the galleons sail in and out of the white marble port of Caesarea.  Every day these great ships came and went, to and from the rest of the wide Roman empire.  He and his family did not follow the Roman gods or Roman ways.  They were faithful, prayerful, and generous to the poor.  As Cornelius turned away from the bright sunlight, he saw something even more dazzling – a vision of an angel.  The vision spoke.
“Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come before God as an offering.  Send men to Joppa and tell them to bring back someone called Simon Peter.  He is staying at the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.”
Cornelius did just that.
As his men were approaching Joppa, Simon Peter the fisherman was praying on the flat roof.  There he had a vision. He saw a huge white sheet let down before him.  Inside it were all kinds of animals that the Law of Moses said not to eat.
“You’re hungry, so eat!” said a voice.
“No!” Simon Peter replied. “I’ve never eaten anything unclean in my life!”
This happened three times, and each time the voice answered
“Don’t call anything unclean that God calls clean!”
Just then Cornelius’s men arrived, asking for Simon Peter, and the voice said, “I’ve sent men to find you.  Just go with them, don’t hesitate!” So he went with them.
When Simon Peter went into Cornelius’ house, it was the first time he had entered the home of a Gentile, a non-Jew, where “unclean” food was served, and the Law of Moses was not followed.
“Why did you want to see me?” Simon Peter asked, looking around at the crowd of family and friends Cornelius had invited.  Then Cornelius told him the vision of the angel.
“So it’s true! God really has no favourites,” Simon Peter replied. “He wants everyone to follow him!” And he began to tell them about Jesus.
While he was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came, filling Cornelius, his friends and family with joy, and they spoke in different tongues as the disciples had at Pentecost.  Simon Peter and the other Jews who had come with him were stunned that God had given the same gift to the Gentiles.  And Simon Peter baptized them. “God accepts them, and so will we!” he said.

 

The Good Shepherd

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Photo: The Good Shepherd, Rosanne Kellar, Exeter Cathedral

One of the most striking things about the Exeter sculpture is it’s height: the plinth is tall, so as you stand before it the shepherd is reaching down to you, as if ready to help you up.  In front of it, I instinctively grabbed the hand offered to me.

This is a Sunday when many Christian traditions reflect on The Good Shepherd – the model of humble and compassionate leadership that Jesus provides for us (John 9 and 10).

Here is my retelling from The Bible Story Retold.

“When the shepherd comes to the sheepfold, and calls out to his sheep, they’ll follow him because they know his voice.  They won’t follow a stranger.  The shepherd will keep them safe from the wolves that howl at night because he loves his sheep.  The shepherd leads them to green pasture, and will never abandon them when danger comes – unlike someone hired, who is working for money.  The shepherd will lay down his life for his flock.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.  They recognise my voice and follow me.  And I will lay down my life for them.  Some of my sheep are far away – I’ll call them, too, and they’ll come.  They will be one big flock, with one good shepherd.”
Yet the religious leaders argued over who Jesus was. “The man’s mad!” said some, while others were less sure. “How can a madman open the eyes of the blind?”

Please feel free to use this reading if it is of help, saying where it is from.