He Spoke to Them in Parables

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it;

 

At the end of the fourth chapter of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus winds up a long series of teachings with two parables, both involving seeds. As is often Jesus’ inclination, these stories use the imagery of the countryside of Galilee in which Jesus grew up.  At a very basic level, that content tells us who composed his audiences. Stories of sowing seeds and harvesting the product of one’s hard labor would readily speak to the experience of the peasant farmers gathered around Jesus.

My focus today is on the part of the reading which comes at the end of these parables. With the seeds and the harvest as well as the mustard tree laid out for our consideration, the writers of Mark’s Gospel offer us some editorial commentary to help us understand what we’ve just read: 

“With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables….”

Clearly the use of parables was central to Jesus’ ministry. Indeed, at least a third of the words attributed to Jesus in the Gospels takes the form of parables. In using this form of storytelling, Jesus engages a practice widely known throughout the Mediterranean world whose usage dates back at least to the ancient Greeks with names like Aristotle and Socrates. 

But the Gospel parables have a distinction that is valued by those of us who would follow Jesus. Biblical scholars widely agree that while some of the words attributed to Jesus in the Gospels may well be the product of the lived experience of the communities who later produced the gospels, the chances are that when we hear Jesus’ parables, we are encountering the heart and mind of Jesus himself.

Some of us may have wondered why Jesus was so prone to use parables, particularly when he was trying to convey concerns of great importance to his listeners. As it turns out, there are a number of reasons for this.

 

Deceptively Simple Stories…on the Surface

Parables often appear as simple stories on their face. But in virtually every parable there is a much deeper underlying meaning at issue. Parables present moral dilemmas to listeners in very thinly disguised forms. Those of us who have taught ethics know that it is precisely in having students wrestle with contrived moral dilemmas that they come to a greater understanding of the ethical issues involved in our daily lives.

 Rembrandt, The Return of the Prodigal Son (1669)

Consider the parables we love. On its face, the Prodigal Son talks about familial relations in an honor/shame culture. But at a deeper level, it raises much weightier questions:

·         What does unconditional love look like?

·         What does it mean to really forgive others?

·         What does it mean to forgive ourselves when we have betrayed our own moral standards?

·         How do we balance the justice the older brother is rightly demanding with the mercy the father is adamantly insisting upon in creating our own societies?

Part of the magic of the parable is its power to call us to enter into the roles of its players. And if we stay with it long enough, we may well find that we have played each of the roles in the story. Consider the Good Samaritan parable.

 

Dianah Roe, The Good Samaritan, UK (2014)

 

·         When in our lives have we been the Samaritan, the despised outsider?

·         When did we do the right thing even in the face of social disapprobation?

·         When have we attended to the needs of the suffering victim?

·         Indeed, when have we been that victim?

·         When have we been the by-passers who did not stop to help the one we’ve met on the street in dire need?

·         When have we mustered rationalizations to avoid feeling the guilt for avoiding our duties to our brother or sister that we probably should have felt in that situation?

 

         James Janknegdt, Texas (found at http://www.bcartfarm.com/index.html)

We Want It Spelled Out - But That’s Not What Parables Do

 One of the beauties of the use of parables is that they are enigmatic. They strike our imagination, pique our curiosity, they make us reflect in order to arrive at meaning. Parables never tell us on their face what their point might be. They require us to wrestle with them, to get beneath the surface explanation before we can ascertain the kernel of the wisdom that is being offered.

  

 

In short, Jesus makes us work for it. And to do so most of us have to get past our immediate couch potato response of avoiding the kind of the hard work that wrestling with our souls always requires. If we are being honest, most of us would admit that when it comes to moral issues, we prefer to be told what we should think, to be given the rules we should follow, to have clearly spelled out the way we should live.

But that’s not what parables do.

Instead Jesus tells us a perfectly ordinary story. Before it is over, it will confront us with a major question. He often begins with "The Kingdom of God is like this." By the end of the story, he has you thinking: Well, I hear the story, but how on earth is the Kingdom of God like that? And that's exactly the point when you realize, this is your cue – answering that question is now your job as the listener.

Jesus also seemed to recognize that what his hearers took away from these parables undoubtedly varied by the listener. The Gospel writers often emphasize points Jesus has made with the assertion “Let those with ears hear!” But whose ears are hearing? As Mark notes, “With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it;” Much of what any of us hears turns on what we bring to that hearing. With a parable, the chances are that, much like a set of witness statements after an accident, you will get as many versions of what happened as there were witnesses. 

But that's the point of the parable. It's open to everyone.

   

A Major Vote of Confidence, A Major Entrustment

 Here’s what I see as the most important part of this. At a very basic level, Jesus’ use of parables is a major vote of confidence in our ability to hear, process and make sense of what he is trying to convey to us. Jesus does not operate out of a theology of depravity that presumes that human beings are incapable of even seeing the good, much less doing it, requiring a rescuing deity to swoop down to save us from ourselves.

 Rather, Jesus calls his fellow sons and daughters of G_d to listen, to reflect, to wrestle with our consciences, and hopefully to engage those attitudes, words and behaviors which in time will make manifest the kingdom of G_d.

 

 

Not only is that a major vote of confidence, it’s also a major entrustment. Clearly Jesus appeared to think pretty highly of his followers. I think that’s something we who follow him today ought to take very seriously.

 

[Sermon preached at St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park, FL June 13, 2021, Proper Six, Year B] 

 

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 Harry Scott Coverston

 

 Orlando, Florida

 

frharry@cfl.rr.com

 

 hcoverston.orlando@gmail.com

 

If the unexamined life is not worth living, surely an unexamined belief system, be it religious or political, is not worth holding. Most things worth considering do not come in sound bites.

 

Those who believe religion and politics aren't connected don't understand either. – Mahatma Gandhi

 

For what does G-d require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your G-d?  - Micah 6:8, Hebrew Scriptures

 

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. - Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Wisdom of the Jewish Sages (1993)

 

     © Harry Coverston, 2021

 

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