"Priceless"
By Peggy Byland
Seminarian in the Reformed Tradition,
Western Theological Seminary
Ella
has a fascination with Grandpa's penny jar. She loves dipping her hand into the opening
and scooping out a fistful of pennies. Once they have been spread on the floor, these
pennies are often transferred to other containers and occasionally transformed into
raindrops falling on her head.
The
other day we sorted Grandpa's pennies. We put the "yucky" pennies into one pile
and the shiny pennies in another. Of course, you can guess who got which pile.
As
I considered my yucky pile of tarnished, rough, worn pennies, I curiously checked the
dates. Finding dates in the 1970's or '80's didn't surprise me, but as I fingered each
well handled penny, I found myself wondering about the stories those pennies could tell.
The
Bible is what theologians call a metanarrative. A metanarrative is a large story
containing many particular stories. These smaller stories are not assimilated or obscured
by blending them into the large story. Rather, these stories remain as independent,
distinct stories within the whole. All the stories within a metanarrative have the same
value - no one is more important or more significant than another.
But,
as with the pennies, the stories are accumulative. Pennies
gather stories as they travel from hand to hand, pocket to purse. If only Grandpa's
pennies could speak of the people and events that led to the tarnishes, bumps and bruises
once the shine was worn off. Each penny would have its own metanarrative.
The
Bible tells of bumps, bruises and tarnishes as well as those moments when God's glory
shines through. And what a rich narrative is unfolded through the lives of wanderers,
prophets, priests, kings, shepherds and fishermen. Stories of wealth, power, popularity
and despair. Stories of fame and failure. Stories of wonder, majesty and grace. Stories of
healing, forgiveness, reconciliation, hope and love.
My
musings return to the penny jar. I wonder how much wealth Grandpa has accrued with his
penny collection. Must be in the $10's or
$20's by now.
And
the value of the Bible? Priceless.
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