INTRODUCTION: Why parables?

The first question asked about parables is usually, "Why did Jesus teach in parables?" Why didn't he just explain things clearly? Considering that parables constitute the lion's share of the direct teachings of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament, it's an important question.

I like to think that Jesus understood some very fundamental realities of the workings of the human learning process. This is not surprising given that Christ Himself is the Image of God after whom all mankind is patterned. (Thanks to Fr. Christopher for his clarity of teaching on the PreIncarnate Christ)

Parables first reach out to us in a basic, emotional sense. We react with resonance to things we understand at a level that is beyond our rational thought process, or we find ourselves puzzled, our curiosity piqued. We are engaged by a good story, a good joke or a wry comment because we are built for an empathetic response, designed to relate what we hear to ourselves and our life, looking for parallells and contrasts. The human mind is clearly designed to take in what we hear and filter it into some form we can place alongside our own life and understanding.

Once Jesus has our attention, we can then engage our rational mind, our heart and our selves in the process of respondng to a parable.

Make no mistake: we are required to respond to the teachings of Jesus as they are made for that purpose. We are challenged by the parables, primarily because they reveal the mind of God.

The phrase, "The Kingdom of God is like..." shows us that what follows is shown to us from the perspective of the place where God rules. The Kingdom of God, both here on earth, where it has an imperfect toe-hold in the beachhead invasion of the Realm of the Evil One, and the Kingdom of God in heavenly realms where God rules Supreme even now, is a place that reflects His ideals, His rules, His perspective. The Kingdom of God is a reflection of the King Himself.

Each time Jesus says, "The Kingdom of God is like...", he is giving us a glimpse into the mind of God. What better way to begin to get a hold on who God is? What more brutal challenge to our small, imperfect way of looking at everything than to hold it up next to the mind of God?

Yet we cannot shrink from such a task, just because we are challenged. We need to welcome the challenge because it is the entire point: putting on the mind of Christ that we will become like Him and joined to Him.

So suck it up, quit your whining, and come with me on a journey through the Parables.

"He who has ears let him hear!"