The Spirit of Stewardship -- Final Week
Telling our Stories of Faith
By Fr. Dan McKean

My grandmother, Mary, would always tell the story of how God got their family of seven through the Great Depression. She would tell the story just as easily as she would recite the Lord’s Prayer. One day, when they were particularly desperate, Grandpa Joe happened to run into a man who needed his house painted. He would pay grandpa with bags of groceries. This story was not about coincidence, or luck, but about the providence of God.

My mother and father would tell the story about how two young people in love felt the intervention of God in helping to bring them together. Dad was a Canadian citizen. Mom lived in Detroit. After several unsuccessful attempts at obtaining a work visa, my mother began to pray in earnest to St. Joseph. One day, when my father walked into the Immigration office, there happened to be a new person at the desk. This new guy, which my mother was convinced was an angel of God, gave my father quick approval. Again, this story was told to impress upon us children the power of prayer and trust in the goodness of God.

We can all read about Jesus in a book, or go to Faith Formation classes, but the most powerful gift of faith is when someone stands up and gives testimony to God. This is why our journey of stewardship included personal witnesses of your fellow parishioners. These stories speak to the reality of the fact that God truly is with us. These stories touch our hearts and express the very depths of this personal relationship that God has with us.

From the very beginning of time, our faith has been handed down through stories, witnesses and testimonials. This is what God has done for me. Eventually, these oral traditions became a part of our written Scriptures. The Gospels are the written record of the life of Jesus Christ. The other books of the New Testament contain the written witnesses of the earliest of the faith communities. They began as stories told until they were eventually written. These written Scriptures tell us of the fact that God has been active with God’s people, but God’s activity among us does not end with the last words of Scripture.

God is alive and is present among us! While the Son of God does not walk physically with us, the Holy Spirit continues to guide and direct the lives that are open to it. How poor our faith would be if all we could tell were stories long past. Each of us needs to hear, and tell the stories of how the power of God is with us even today.

There cannot be a single person among us who does not have a story to tell; even a personal story to tell. If we cannot think of one, then we are just not paying attention enough to God’s power around us. We need to discover our own story and share it others around us. We all need to hear your story, your witness, your testimony. God is not dead, nor are the mercies of God spent.

Now, as always, the testimony we give is how we are stewards of the story -- the great treasures of our formal and living faith that we are to hand on to the next generation. Think about it, who were your first teachers of faith? Who really impressed upon you the power of Christ among us? What event in your life speaks to you about how God was with you? Don’t be selfish. Share your story.