November 22, 2026 10:00 am
November 22, 2026
Room: StDavids - Crail C 260C
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The parables are often presented as easy to understand, straightforward teachings of Jesus that require no more work to come to terms with than simply agreeing to their obvious meaning. Yet, careful reading of the parable texts raise hard questions without easy answers: Why does a widow ask a human judge for vengeance when it is only God who can avenge? After the sheep was lost, what was on the menu for the friends who gathered to celebrate the return? Who actually are tax collectors and do they deserve our sympathy? What if the Pharisee is the hero of the parable? Is the there a rich man in hell watching Lazarus at peace with God like some eternal reality TV show?
What if parables are more like kaleidoscopes that change with us and reveal new things to us over the course of our lives? By recontextualizing the parables in their simplest forms alongside historical insight, the parables and their many meanings become challenging, convicting, and companions for the whole of our journey with Jesus.
What if parables are more like kaleidoscopes that change with us and reveal new things to us over the course of our lives? By recontextualizing the parables in their simplest forms alongside historical insight, the parables and their many meanings become challenging, convicting, and companions for the whole of our journey with Jesus.