Jesus’ parables belong to “mashal”, the Jewish extension of sacred poetry, stories, proverbs, riddles, and dialogues through which wisdom is conveyed.
Jesus took “mashal” from beyond traditional morality and into a world of profound reversal and paradox. He deliberately used seditious paradox not to confirm but to uproot, and turn his listeners’ minds upside down. Throughout the gospels, we hear people saying repeatedly, “What is this he’s teaching? No one has ever said anything like this before. Where did he come from?”
One surprising thing about Jesus’ parables is that they are rarely about God. They are about weddings and banquets, family tensions, muggings, farmers sowing and reaping, and shrewd business dealings. Jesus obviously wants us to look closely at this world. It is here and now and all around us, in the most ordinary things, that we find divine presence.
Then, and much more today, Jesus is telling us to pay attention to what is going on and to discern a reality that is right before us. He wants us to see change happening, a change he calls the coming of the “reign of God” and that we are meant to be a part of it.
Matthew 11:15, 25 “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand! O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.”
Comments