CAPTIVA CHAPEL BY THE SEA
\nRev. Dr. Jim Miller<\/p>\n
Oscar Wilde was known for lots of aphorisms but here\u2019s one of my favorites: It\u2019s what you read when you don\u2019t have to \u2014 that determines what you will be when you can\u2019t help it.<\/p>\n
Hmmm. I love that. But there\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n
According to an Economist poll taken in 2023, most Americans don\u2019t read books anymore. The numbers are astonishing: 46% of us finished zero books that year and 5% read just one.<\/p>\n
Last week I was riding the MARTA train in Atlanta and sat across from a young 20-something who had a book opened on his lap. As many times as I\u2019ve ridden the MARTA I\u2019ve never seen anyone reading a book. Most are looking at their phones; others have earbuds and are listening to music. But this young guy was reading a book.<\/p>\n
The size of his book got my attention, too. Big and thick. I glanced over and got a better look: it was \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d by Homer.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse me,\u201d I said, \u201cbut I think it\u2019s amazing you\u2019re reading \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 on this train!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do?\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou bet. In fact, I think it\u2019s amazing you\u2019re reading anything at all!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d he smiled, \u201cI love to read, and I try to grab any minutes I can to do it. And since the film version of \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 just came out \u2014 I thought I\u2019d re-read the epic before I watched the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is my kind of guy, I thought, and I immediately wished I had more time to visit with him \u2014 to climb into his story a bit more. But, alas, we had just a few minutes.<\/p>\n
One of the things that excites me most about coming to the Captiva\u2019s historic Chapel by the Sea in November is the privilege I\u2019ll have as a pastor to share time with folks and learn about their story.<\/p>\n
In fact, in my pastoral ministry, one of my favorite opening questions is very simple: Tell me a bit of your story. Start wherever you want, tell me whatever you want \u2014 but tell me a bit of your story.<\/p>\n
We all have a story, of course. And each of ours is not only personal but unique. There\u2019s nobody else that has your story. Not your mom or dad, not your spouse or children. Nobody has your story.<\/p>\n
And yet in another way the details of our stories may be different \u2014 but the landscape of our stories is the same. That is, it won\u2019t take too long before our stories overlap in some way.<\/p>\n
Well, you might be wondering: What does all this talk about \u201cstory\u201d have to do with reading books?<\/p>\n
Ah, I\u2019m glad to tell you. This summer I taught a class at a Presbyterian Conference Center called Ghost Ranch in the high Mesa country of New Mexico, about an hour north of Santa Fe.<\/p>\n
In preparation for the week we had together, I invited my class of 35 to read John Bunyan\u2019s classic book, an allegory titled, \u201cThe Pilgrim\u2019s Progress\u201d \u2014 written while he was in prison in England and published in 1678.<\/p>\n
I wonder if you\u2019ve heard of it?<\/p>\n
For two hundred years or so, \u201cPilgrim\u2019s Progress\u201d ranked as the second most popular book in America \u2014 second only to the Bible.<\/p>\n
I titled my class: Pilgrim\u2019s Progress: You\u2019re Story, Too?<\/p>\n
I encourage you to go to wikipedia and find a summary of the book. I\u2019d also suggest you check out an audio play\/broadcast put out by the BBC. It\u2019s like hearing an old radio play and it\u2019s brilliantly done. You can listen to a sample at https:\/\/share.google\/houwDfZ88ESwLjyro<\/a>.<\/p>\n My hope is that the sample might prompt you to pick up the actual book \u2014 and consider this question: Is \u201cThe Pilgrim\u2019s Progress\u201d my story, too? For me, the answer is a resounding yes.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an idea: call me in November when I arrive at the Chapel By the Sea. If you tell me some of your story, I\u2019ll tell you mine. I\u2019m confident that ours will overlap in ways that are remarkable.<\/p>\n And one of the great blessings from doing so? Our friendship will deepen. And our sense of how faith and life intersect might be awakened. OK, I\u2019ll sweeten the pot: I\u2019ll buy coffee!<\/p>\n See you in November!<\/p>\n The Rev. Dr. Jim Miller is the pastor at the Captiva Chapel by the Sea.<\/p>\n