BiND:  Day 74

 

Well, today we got some of Luke’s best known writing—the teachings of Jesus.  Luke is really interested in the things Jesus said, and he reports several parables and teachings that we don’t find in the other gospels.  The best known examples of this are the parable of the prodigal and the parable of the good Samaritan.

 

So…what is a parable, anyway?  The word parable has to do with “setting alongside”—in a story form, a parable sets alongside each other two things in order to make a point.  So, “who is my neighbor” leads to a story setting the question of “neighbor” alongside three examples.  “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed” is, if not obvious, at least an obvious expression of “setting alongside.”  Though often interpreted as allegories, Jesus’ parables are not all necessarily allegories.  In other words, they do not have to be interpreted with God and Jesus and us as the characters.  It’s possible for them to have other meanings, though the allegorical meaning is often the most obvious or most common interpretation.  We often like this form of interpretation for parables because we tend to be intent on figuring out what the story has to do with us, personally, and the easiest way to do that is to put ourselves in the story.  So next time you’re reading a parable, try putting yourself in as different characters, not always the same one (how often have you heard that God is like the father and we are the “prodigal son” who wanders off and has to come begging home, only to be forgiven?  Try thinking of yourself as the older brother.  What does the parable say then?  What if you’re the father?  etc…).

 

Many of Jesus’ parables are still as confusing to us today as they were to the disciples who, you may have noticed, are constantly asking, “umm, was that for us?  ‘cuz if so, we didn’t get it……”  The beautiful thing about teaching via story is that there is always something new to learn.  The hard (yet still beautiful) thing about teaching via story is that you’re never able to tell what’s the “right” way to interpret it or the “one big thing” to learn from it.  Luke has Jesus telling more parables than any of the other gospels, and I wonder if Luke’s emphasis on drawing God’s circle wider than we expect has to do with that?  What do you all think?  And what did you notice as you read today?

photo is of the Sea of Galilee, taken by TCP