Parable Power

Each one of us is in the midst of writing our own gospel-our own Good News story.

Have you ever tried to retell a funny story or joke that previously split your sides -- only to see it fall flat as a pancake the second time around? The same setup, the same characters, the same punch line that left yesterday's lunch crowd holding their sides and wiping their eyes, leave today's prayer breakfast yawning as they sip their coffee.

We've come up with some standard comebacks to cover ourselves and explain these freakish occurrences:

-- "I guess you just had to be there."
-- "It loses something in translation."
-- "You just don't get it."

But the fact is, storytelling of any sort, amusing anecdotes or tragic tales, is an unrepeatable art form. The variety of people listening, the inflections in your voice, the mood of the day, the color of the sky -- they all combine to create a one-time-only atmosphere for the words you speak. A story may bring a tear or a smile at one telling, and yet, the very next audience experiences the same words in a completely different way.

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