The Gospel Stories

WED., APR. 30, 1986, 5:54 AM
FARM, STUDY

You are apprehensive, yet relieved. The title came slowly amidst a lot of cluttered thought, so there is relief that a theme has been received. Yet there is apprehension because it is one that “tests” this process. Can you write of matters that are beyond what you know? Can I truly give you insights you didn’t have before? These feelings are acceptable, even after these years of practice. You are here and writing. That is your answer to your questions.

Stories are still the form I recommend to you as the major way to understand and interpret this earth life. You have not been diligent in collecting stories, and I am not pleased with this lack. When the pressure of this semester end diminishes I want some action in formulating some more stories. In the meantime, hear My comments, on this gentle Spring morning, about My Gospel stories.

One truth that comes from a reading and studying of the four accounts is that no one account can ever tell a story in its fullness. John concludes with the truth that there is much more that could have been said. Still the Gospels give as complete a story as is necessary for the faith. There is more to ponder and use as a model than any human can apply. More would satisfy certain curiosities, but is not necessary for deeper faith.

The title uses the term “stories” rather than “story”, even though each is truth. There is a single story, and each is a part of that whole. What I emphasize here is the integrity of separate stories, which can be more important than the whole. You are living an individual life, which is a teeny portion of the life of humanity. In one sense I should have infinitely greater concern for the whole than for you. In another, My concern for you can be focused, and you are more important to Me than the whole. Yet know that I say the same to many others this day. My Kingdom is not one of competition. To call you a favorite may mean that you are last in the Kingdom. The sense this makes is that all who come to Me are special, and I have the capacity to love and nurture each, as if she were an “only child.”

One of the tenets of the Gospel stories is that I, as Jesus, was and am the only son of God. This sets Me apart, like unto no other individual ever. Yet the story also says that I came to live in the earth “as one of you”… that I came in human form, in common human form. I related to people in a way that a properly holy, set-apart Son of God would not. The story says I did. In Matthew’s story I was not at all certain of My divinity, and I called Myself the Son of Man. In John’s story I am fully aware of My relationship with God and Man. Are God and Man the same? Liberal theologians say Yes. Conservatives howl No. The stories say both… and this is closer to truth.

Why did I tell parables? Why did I perform miracles? Why did I do so few? Why did I not fulfill the role of conquering Messiah? In Teachings I have told you more than the Gospel stories tell, yet I continue to affirm that the Scriptures are My best Word. But does “the first shall be last” apply here? Hmmm.