I became interested in a more narrative structure for theology when I returned to teaching New Testament courses at Salt Lake Theological Seminary in 2002. Our Academic Dean and Old Testament professor suggested a couple of big-picture kinds of books in addition to a more typical New Testament survey. This started my journey with then Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright. Wright’s The Challenge of Jesus was a game changer. Within two years, I was assigning my students to tell God’s story to the Apostle John as they finished their second semester and worked through his Revelation at the end of the Bible. I’m still reading N.T. Wright in 2023.
I wrote an initial careful summary of God’s Grand Story as chapter four in Transitions: The Mormon Migration from Religion to Relationship. This workbook was an attempt to provide an alternative narrative for Mormons who were transitioning from an institutional faith to a relationship with God outside of “the Church.” And I began wondering how wide a narrative theology could reach. By 2012 I had collected a couple dozen titles telling some or more of God’s story. I have continued to read and collect samples over the last decade. What felt a bit edgy in 2012 is now very mainstream. Imagine my delight when I discovered that Zondervan publishers have a “Story of God Bible Commentary” series.
Let me give you a simple version of God’s story told in ideas drawn from “game theory.” I gave this as a Christmas Eve sermon in 2005. Meditate on it. And ask yourself, why did Jesus want to die? I would love to hear your thoughts!
A Christmas Story
Once upon a time, before all time, God began playing a game. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit danced a great round dance and played something like a children’s game. In love, and out of their love for one another, they chose to create more players for their game.
God created our world and invited the first man and the first woman to play in the Garden. All games, even simple games, have rules. Sadly, the man and woman decided they wanted to write their own rules and began playing a different game.
God saw that their new game was dangerous and hurtful to others.
What was God going to do with them?
God’s Invitation to Love
Because God chose to create them in love, God invited those playing the hurtful game to return to his healthy game that had only one rule: We must love all other players in the game — including God.
The Bible tells us the names of many of the people God invited to return to his healthy game: Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Miriam, David and Bathsheba, Ruth, Naomi, and the whole people of Israel. God loved all of these wonderful people even though they kept trying to change the rules of his game. In fact, all humanity continued to hurt others by playing our own dangerous game.
What was God going to do with us?
God’s Renewed Invitation to Love
Because God chose to create us in love, God entered our dangerous game as the baby Jesus. The Bible tells us that the baby Jesus grew up as a wonderful and loving teacher. He reminded us about the true rules of God’s game: We must love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength; and we must love our neighbors as ourselves. People didn’t like this reminder to play by God’s rules, and so they killed him by hanging him on a cross.
What was God going to do with them?
God becomes Suffering Love
Here is the most amazing part of God’s game — God knew all of this before any of these games began. And God chose to play within our broken rules and win even this most dangerous game. Here is how he did it: Before he died on the cross, Jesus prayed “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And so Jesus joined us in the deepest hurt in all the world. He died forgiving those who chose to hurt and kill him.
And God knew exactly what to do next! He raised Jesus from the dead to prove to us that love and forgiveness are the way he wins the game — even our broken games!
Of course, this lesson was given a long time ago and only a few people witnessed how God won the game. And so we should ask, What was God to do for us?
The Community of the King
Before he died, and for forty days after he rose from the dead, Jesus taught the rules of his Father’s renewed old game to his closest friends. Just after Jesus ascended to his Father he sent the Holy Spirit to empower his disciples to announce the forgiveness of sins through his death and resurrection. Jesus sent them out to preach a renewed love of God and neighbor based on the experience of being loved and forgiven. And Jesus told his disciples to invite everyone to live in a new community gathered in love for the forgiveness of sins and the setting right of every injustice done to our neighbor. And this community is known to us as his church.
Jesus has let us preach his love and forgiveness through baptism and holy communion for almost two thousand years. And he has promised to return to judge the living and the dead. All those who have rejected his Father’s love and forgiveness will be given an eternal time-out. All who have accepted his Father’s love and forgiveness will be raised from the dead to a new life with Christ. We will play and dance in the new heaven and on the new earth. And so God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — wins the game and enjoys our friendship for ever and ever. Amen.