Our Brains on Stories

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I often wonder why more preachers – priests, ministers, rabbis – fail to use stories in their homilies. (Ok, I must admit I’m talking about Catholic preachers. I’ve heard few preachers from other religious traditions.) But it seems so obvious that stories are very effective in helping people understand the sometimes-obscure topics that preachers discuss.

So, why are stories so effective?

“We are wired that way,” according to a story entitled, “The Science of Storytelling: Why Telling a Story is the Most Powerful Way to Activate Our Brains,” on the online site, “lifehacker.”

“A story, if broken down into the simplest form, is a connection of cause and effect,” writes author Leo Widrich. “And that is exactly how we think. We think in narratives all day long, no matter if it is about buying groceries, whether we think about work or our spouse at home. We make up (short) stories in our heads for every action and conversation.”

Jesus Used Them Continuously

The other rather obvious reason Christian preachers should use stories is that Jesus used them almost continuously. A good example is a story, or parable, that was the gospel reading on a recent weekend at church. In this case, Jesus uses a story that sowers of seeds and harvesters of crops – the vast majority of people who listened to him – would easily understand.

And he was evidently a great storyteller. How else to explain the crowds of people he was able to attract?

“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake,” says Mathew’s gospel. “Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying:

“A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

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To me, this story is among the most relatable for people who have given up on God and/or religion – the target audience for this blog. But it’s also relevant for believers, who I believe should never become smug about their faith.

First, it’s interesting that the sower is apparently “careless” about where he scatters the seed. Is this another instance in which Jesus is “showing us the father?” God invites everyone to partake of his/her love.

Then you have seemingly perfect metaphors of how people come to reject, ignore or joyfully accept God’s invitation. The first of four ways mentioned is the seed that falls on the foot path where the soil is beaten down, hard and unreceptive. These may be the people whose hearts are hardened and who refuse to even acknowledge God’s invitation.

Then there is the seed that falls on rocky places. It springs up but the soil isn’t deep enough, and when the sun comes out, it fades and dies. These may be the people who are enthusiastic and committed until busyness or the complexities of life take their toll and faith fades.

The Seed Among Thorns

Next is the seed that falls among thorns, which I see as the temptation to give in to doubt, to what other people say, to the negative trends that assault us daily.

Finally, there is the seed that falls on good soil, “where it produced a crop - a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

This speaks to me about the degrees to which people commit and the degree to which they come to love God and others. And it speaks to the patience of God, who is willing to wait for us to make up our minds about him/her. Though Jesus said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” he knew that perfection is only something human beings can strive for.