Bible Interpretation, Student Workbook, SW05

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B I B L E I N T E R P R E T A T I O N

Story, Theology, and Church (continued)

Or we might put it this way. Theology arises because there is always more to the story than even the tellers either realize or intend. We have a classic example in John’s gospel (11:49-52): “But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation should not perish.’ ” John then goes on to give his reflection and expansion concerning these words (theology): “He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” Time and hindsight often reveal deeper and richer motifs to stories. Theology grabs onto this and draws it out. Theology is rooted in and flows from the story. The Jesus stories themselves are varied and obviously reflect different traditions. Even a casual reading of the four gospels demonstrates this. Since this is so, we expect that such varied story traditions will give rise to varied theologies. No one system is made absolute-nor should it be. The normative stories themselves, after all, are not only open-ended but conditioned by the assumptions and frame of references of their times. There have been and will continue to be many systems of theology in the church. Although there has been a drive in modern times to reduce all systems to one, in the history of the church there has been a wide tolerance of diversity. We must remember that the experience of Jesus came before reflections about him. This is a way of saying that life came before thought, and that story came before theology. The experience of Jesus was indeed, as we have seen, enshrined in stories, but it must also be noted that it was simultaneously enshrined in ritual and in celebration. Signs, actions, gesture, and symbol also became part of the overall story. Ritual itself is a story line in action. So right away there arose rituals reenacting the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul calls this baptism. Then there was a ritual meal breaking bread and sharing a cup, signs of the very givingness of Jesus. In short, there were also lived and shared stories we have come to describe Eighth Proposition: Stories produce many theologies. Ninth Proposition: Stories produce ritual and sacrament.