9/17/06 Learning from parables

Our discussion of parables will focus on three aspects of parables:

1. What they teach us about God
2. How we need to change our perspective and actions in light of the Kingdom of God revealed
3. The outrageous/foolish/miraculous perspective of God
   

The first and most fundamental aspect of parables is that they reveal to us God's character. They show us Who the King of Heaven is by the way He acts in His power and His mercy. Aspects of His nature and personality are variously described, including the tension between God/Adonai in His righteous judgment and the LORD/Elohim in His Mercy and compassion. *

In keeping with my commitment to root out the sin, misunderstanding and rebelliousness of my own heart, I look to the parables as challenges to my limited and skewed perspective on reality. Christ has been kind enough to describe to us arcs (parabolas?) of earthly reality that come near (the Greek word for "near" is parabolou) to describing the ultimate reality of the Kingdom of God. It is our duty to readjust ourselves to the Kingdom's way of looking at things, to evaluate ourselves, our priorities and our responses to align with the One Whom we serve.

Perhaps the most intriguing discovery in the parables is the outrageous, the foolish, the miraculous that is hidden (not too deeply) in each parable. It is not surprising, though, to find an otherworldly (read: not the same as the world's) reality exposed when the corner of the Kingdom of this Age is peeled back and something of Ultimate Reality shines through. God makes me laugh, scratch my head and wonder, when I see how wrong is my way of seeing.

We will be looking at all three components in each parable, and trying to avoid our head exploding. Humility and humor are two indispensible tools whenever one cracks open the Word of God!

*I must state for the record here that it is the position of the historical Church and all orthodox Christians everywhere that the teachings of Jesus are completely in accord with the the revealed nature of God of the Old Testament. Any apparent contradiction is merely a problem of our understanding, which is part of the struggle for us to be remade in His likeness. As the song says, "I am not making it, it is making me."