Anniversary Sunday - 1 Nov 2009
When the kids were younger (well, even now) they would get really annoyed when I begin to tell them a story that I had told many times before: "You've already told that story," But I would tell them, "I like telling it!"
At the time, my retort served only to further irritate them. I think only now as they are grown that they sort of appreciate why I tend to repeat certain stories. There is just a joy in re-telling them again and again. I did the same in re-telling the history of Agape at our church anniversary yesterday. There is just a joy in such repetitions.
Why? Because we don't just nurture others and ourselves with freshness and novelty. If we only talked with each other when we had something new or interesting to share, there would be mostly silence around our tables. There would also be a lot less humour and wit in our conversations. We don't just nurture each other through novelty and by being interesting, we also, and importantly, nurture family life, our friendship circles, and our workplaces by working and reworking to death old stories, old jokes, and old anecdotes, until that repetition becomes it own story, its own humour, and its own anecdote.
Some things happen in every repetition. It becomes more and more yours. It’s like you own that story. You move from a story teller tobecoming the story owner, like a musician takes ownership of the scores by repeatedly practicing the scales. The accomplishments of art, the efficacy of prayer, the beauty of tradition, and the force of character depend on repetitions to be effective and meaningful.
Many of us know exactly what this means. We have family and friends that entertain and irritate us by mercilessly repeating old stories, old jokes, and old anecdotes over and over until this very repetition becomes its own story and takes on its own character. Sometimes this irritates us and we want to protest, but, eventually we come to appreciate what that brings into the circle of family life, friendship, and community, namely, a colour, a wit, a character, and a peculiar idiosyncrasy that becomes a story onto itself. We don't live on novelty alone, but on every retold story that highlights the irony and colour within our everyday lives.
My own family has been irritatingly famous for this. We are a family that loves the joy of the of retelling old stories. At our dinner tables many of the same stories and jokes get told over and over again. And they aren't always received with appreciation. Not infrequently there is a raised eyebrow ("My God, he's not going to tell that one again!"). But, overall, there is the enjoyment of the old wit, of an old funny incident being enjoyed again, in a fresh new way, both by the one retelling it and by those listening. At our table, what's old and tedious nurtures and carries family life as much what's new and interesting, sometimes more so because the retelling of old anecdotes and stories help highlight our own particular history and character as a family.
I have a way with my humour, to repeat a punch-line over and over again, as if it somehow wasn't heard the first time. My two children will laugh at the fact that I just have to repeat it again. They think I am moving towards senility.
But there is a real reason we repeat a punch-line. We repeat a punch-line because we like saying it! We like the feel of the joy of repetition.
I suppose that is exactly what should happen whenever we repeat the Gospel story. We should do it again and again because we like sharing that story. We own it. It is our story. In the same spirit, we should never get tired of the Communion. Jesus instituted it for our remembrance; that we never ever forget the work of the Cross.
Yesterday, I had the joy of re-telling Agape’s history and we saw God all over again, in the past and in the future. There is a joy in repetition. And that story will be re-told for years to come, in every new generation.
