The Gospel as tragedy, comedy and fairy tail
One of the activities that we did in the preaching tutorial classes was we were given an exercise and were asked a series of questions. One of them was: what can you do weekly to expand your influence or grow yourself. During that conversation I wrote down that I could start writing again; weekly; in a blog; every tuesday. I also mentioned that I used to dream of writing a novel. Of course I have decided that it's no longer a dream that I can afford to pursue. However, Amanda Ferguson simply said that no one was stopping me from doing that, which is true.
If I ever do pick up fiction writing again, it would probably be to get my creative juices flowing again and simply to just challenge myself creatively speaking.
So it's tuesday and so I decided to start a blog and hopefully I can post one every tuesday for the rest of the year.
I'm currently reading Frederick Buechner's book: Telling the Truth: The gospel as tragedy, comedy and fairy tale. I picked it up from the library last week between deliberations of whether it was wise to pick up a book late into the semester and Hillsong conference just a couple of weeks away. But I'm happy to be reading again. It reminded me why I like authors who are writers. It's literature. I miss reading good literature.
So here's a quote:
"The Gospel is bad news before it is good news. It is the news that man is a sinner, to use the old word, that he is evil in the imagination of his heart, that when he looks in the mirror all in a lather what he sees is at least eight parts chicken, phony, slob. That is the tradegy. But it is also the news that he is loved anyway, cherished, forgiven, bleeding to be sure, but also bled for. That is comedy. And yet, forgiven when the very mark and substance of his sin and of his slobbery is that he keeps turning down the love and forgiveness because he either doesnn’t believe them or doesn’t want them or just doesn’t give a damn? In answer, the news of the Gospel is that extraordinary things happen. Henry Ward Beecher cheats on his wife, his God, himself, but manages to keep on bringing the Gospel to life for people anyway, maybe even for himself. Lear goes berserk on a heath but comes out of it for a few brief hours every inch a king. Zaccheus climbs up a sycamore tree a crook and climbs down a saint. Paul sets out a hatchet man for the Pharisees and comes back a fool for Christ. It is impossible for anybody to leave behind the darkness of the world he carries on his back like a snail, but for God all things are possible. That is fairy tale. All together they are the truth."
The gospel is these three things. It is a tragedy. The Bible does not mince words when it talks about the fallen human condition. It does not glorify the situation that man finds himself in. The word of God penetrates through all the cosmetics and reveals the stinking truth - man for all his gifts and promise has deluded himself into thinking that there is a better way than what his all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good creator had planned for him.
The comedy, that is the good news. There is hope. No matter how much we have drifted, God's arm is long enough to reach us and bring us back.
The fairy tail is where the happy ever after comes in. Because in this story, God is undoubtedly the author. He holds the pen. In his creative, powerful hand, he pens the greatest story that will ever be told. In the interplay of human will and divine sovereignty a masterpiece is being created. It is finished and it is on going. That is the gospel story.
If I ever do pick up fiction writing again, it would probably be to get my creative juices flowing again and simply to just challenge myself creatively speaking.
So it's tuesday and so I decided to start a blog and hopefully I can post one every tuesday for the rest of the year.
I'm currently reading Frederick Buechner's book: Telling the Truth: The gospel as tragedy, comedy and fairy tale. I picked it up from the library last week between deliberations of whether it was wise to pick up a book late into the semester and Hillsong conference just a couple of weeks away. But I'm happy to be reading again. It reminded me why I like authors who are writers. It's literature. I miss reading good literature.
So here's a quote:
"The Gospel is bad news before it is good news. It is the news that man is a sinner, to use the old word, that he is evil in the imagination of his heart, that when he looks in the mirror all in a lather what he sees is at least eight parts chicken, phony, slob. That is the tradegy. But it is also the news that he is loved anyway, cherished, forgiven, bleeding to be sure, but also bled for. That is comedy. And yet, forgiven when the very mark and substance of his sin and of his slobbery is that he keeps turning down the love and forgiveness because he either doesnn’t believe them or doesn’t want them or just doesn’t give a damn? In answer, the news of the Gospel is that extraordinary things happen. Henry Ward Beecher cheats on his wife, his God, himself, but manages to keep on bringing the Gospel to life for people anyway, maybe even for himself. Lear goes berserk on a heath but comes out of it for a few brief hours every inch a king. Zaccheus climbs up a sycamore tree a crook and climbs down a saint. Paul sets out a hatchet man for the Pharisees and comes back a fool for Christ. It is impossible for anybody to leave behind the darkness of the world he carries on his back like a snail, but for God all things are possible. That is fairy tale. All together they are the truth."
The gospel is these three things. It is a tragedy. The Bible does not mince words when it talks about the fallen human condition. It does not glorify the situation that man finds himself in. The word of God penetrates through all the cosmetics and reveals the stinking truth - man for all his gifts and promise has deluded himself into thinking that there is a better way than what his all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good creator had planned for him.
The comedy, that is the good news. There is hope. No matter how much we have drifted, God's arm is long enough to reach us and bring us back.
The fairy tail is where the happy ever after comes in. Because in this story, God is undoubtedly the author. He holds the pen. In his creative, powerful hand, he pens the greatest story that will ever be told. In the interplay of human will and divine sovereignty a masterpiece is being created. It is finished and it is on going. That is the gospel story.
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