In past August Sunday services as I pick up again after a summer break, I have sometimes taken a second crack at sermons I’ve previously given, referring to them, following Nathaniel Hawthorne’s lead, as “twice-told tales.” This August, the “twice-told tales” to which I return are literally tales, fairy tales, that is.
One of the functions of mythology and religion is what Joseph Campbell calls the “pedagogical function” – teaching and guiding the individual through the normal stages of life in a harmonious and fulfilling way. And fairy tales, the distilled wisdom of the ages – “minor scriptures,” if you will – are traditional sources of teaching what the values of the different stages of life are.
This sermon is the first in a series of three sermons – August 6, 13, 27 – indicating the values that these tales bring forward for the three main stages of life. Those three stages are: 1) the early years of youth and dependence; 2) the middle years of adulthood and independence; 3) the elder years of disengagement, letting go, and return).