The Persian Shepherd Boy and Other Tales: Sermon Stories for the Modern Era
Ebook
Herein you will find a collection of sermon stories that speak to the modern era with fresh insights and occasional humor. Many of them are the personal experiences of the collector who brought them together. Each narrative is paired with an appropriate biblical text to elicit insight and some homiletical commentary is also provided. The stories are separated into historical memories, folklore, and fables. Some narratives come from the Jewish tradition, a source that we Christians too seldom consider. May you find some to be heartwarming, others pointed in meaning, and still others evoking new insights.
“The Persian Shepherd Boy and Other Tales is a collection of true stories, folklore, and fables that Robert Gnuse uses to enliven his parish sermons. He captures the imagination with story and then uses the story’s meaning to clarify related biblical texts. These short narratives provoke suspense, humor, curiosity, the reversal of expectation, inspiration, and intrigue. The power of the evolving story engages readers to see old well-known biblical lessons with new insights and new ways of seeing.”
—Terri Bednarz, RSM, institute leadership team member, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
“This collection of fables and folklore provides a rich assortment of jewels to illuminate and enliven even the most familiar sermon material by creating fresh and colorful ways to imagine time-worn biblical truths. Braiding Scripture and commentary with scenes ranging from a thirteenth-century German castle to last week’s storm in Louisiana bayou country, Robert Gnuse’s stories offer adventure, wisdom, heroic deeds, and down-home charm that will surely inspire people in the pews.”
—Deborah Halter, author of The Papal “No”: A Comprehensive Guide to the Vatican’s Rejection of Women’s Ordination
Robert Karl Gnuse is a distinguished professor of Old Testament at Loyola University, where he has taught since 1980. Since 1989 he has been a part time pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Marrero, Louisiana. He is the author of numerous scholarly books and articles. His most recent volumes are Monotheism and Social Justice (2023) and The Bible and the Environment (2022).