In chapter 4 of St. Luke’s gospel Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue to describe his mission. Later, in a confrontation with the townspeople he invokes the memory of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Jesus’ self-understanding was formed by the story of how God dealt with Israel which he had learned in the Bible. That models for us an important component of growth in the spiritual life — knowing our story. Like Jesus, we need to know the story of God as recorded in the Bible, never forgetting that the Bible for Jesus was what we call the Old Testament. It is also helpful to know the story of God throughout the history of the Church where we recoganize how God utilized flawed human beings in ages past and present. Finally, we must get in touch with our own story of grace, how God has been with us in the long and winding road of our lives. Getting in touch with those stories gives us direction in how God is with us today and will be with us in the days to come.
