Once Upon A Parable...
I bought a book the other day based on an article on CNN (Which is a weird place to get a book review).
The book is about the parables of Jesus and it's called "Short Stories by Jesus" and it's written by Amy-Jill Levine. The opening chapter is titled "How We Domesticated Jesus' Provocative Stories".
This book speaks to me because I often feel we sell the gospel short. One thing that struck me in her introduction is that the parables are not meant to be fully understood. They hold more than one truth and explanation. That's why Jesus told them in the community. Each person would understand it differently.
A simple thought stopped me in tracks... The disciples who spent time with Jesus never understood the parables.The never fully grasped what Jesus was getting at. These were people who lived and breathed with the Christ and yet still missed the point. Here I sit 2000 years removed and I think I get it. I think my interpretation is the right one. How arrogant of me.
Maybe not getting the parable is half the point?
I want to just leave with a quote from the book.
'"Mystery" is here not indicative of something arcane or in need of a special key to unlock a singular meaning. What makes the parables mysterious, or difficult, is that they challenge us to look into the hidden aspects of our own values, our own lives. They bring to the surface unasked questions, and they reveal the answers we have always known, but refuse to acknowledge. Our reaction to them should be one of resistance rather than acceptance. For our own comfort, we may want to foreclose the meaning rather than allow the parable to open into multiple interpretations. We are probably more comfortable proclaiming a creed than prompting a conversation or pursuing a call.
Religion has been defined as designed to comfort the afflicted and afflict thecomfortable. We do well to think of the parables of Jesus as doing the afflicting. Therefore. if we hear a parable and think, "I really like that" or, worse, fail to take any challenge, we are not listening well enough.'
The book is about the parables of Jesus and it's called "Short Stories by Jesus" and it's written by Amy-Jill Levine. The opening chapter is titled "How We Domesticated Jesus' Provocative Stories".This book speaks to me because I often feel we sell the gospel short. One thing that struck me in her introduction is that the parables are not meant to be fully understood. They hold more than one truth and explanation. That's why Jesus told them in the community. Each person would understand it differently.
A simple thought stopped me in tracks... The disciples who spent time with Jesus never understood the parables.
Maybe not getting the parable is half the point?
I want to just leave with a quote from the book.
'"Mystery" is here not indicative of something arcane or in need of a special key to unlock a singular meaning. What makes the parables mysterious, or difficult, is that they challenge us to look into the hidden aspects of our own values, our own lives. They bring to the surface unasked questions, and they reveal the answers we have always known, but refuse to acknowledge. Our reaction to them should be one of resistance rather than acceptance. For our own comfort, we may want to foreclose the meaning rather than allow the parable to open into multiple interpretations. We are probably more comfortable proclaiming a creed than prompting a conversation or pursuing a call.
Religion has been defined as designed to comfort the afflicted and afflict the
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