express, state, relate, narrate
敍 centers on putting events or ideas into words in an ordered way: expressing, stating, relating, or narrating a sequence of events.
敍 combines 余 (a phonetic component suggesting order or sequence) with 攴 (a hand holding a stick, implying action). Together they suggest the act of ordering words or events, i.e., narrating or expressing.
The left side 余 looks like a surplus of words, and the right side 攴 is a hand with a stick, like a conductor directing the flow. Picture a storyteller using a stick to point at each event as they narrate in order.
For ジョ, imagine a narrator named Joe who loves to relate long stories: Joe -> ジョ, and he uses a stick to keep the tale in order.