An old saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” To take that a step further, I sometimes think, “Yes, and… a story is worth a thousand pictures.” A good story opens our eyes and enables us to see realities and envision possibilities to which we were previously blind. So it is with the parables of Jesus, which paint a rich array of pictures envisioning what life in the kingdom of God is like. How we understand Jesus’ parables can decisively shape how we understand living under God’s reign.
I have long appreciated C.H. Dodd’s definition of a parable: “A parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.” Building on this, a preacher friend once compared parables with peanut butter that gets stuck on the roof of your mouth, that you have to keep mulling over and chewing on in order to fully digest. The idea here is that those who hear the parables are not just passive listeners but must actively think, reflect, and tease out the parable’s full meaning.
Based upon the disciples’ responses to Jesus’ parables, we can see that their meaning wasn’t always clear (Mark 4:10,13). Which brings us back to the notion that “a story is worth a thousand pictures.” While it’s fair to say that some parables make one primary point, it’s also true that Jesus’ parables contain a surplus of meaning, and like a diamond held up to the light, refract a rich variety of colors and hues. Further, the gospel writers tend to gather and emphasize specific parable themes. Tom Long observes that Matthew’s parables tend to emphasize wisdom and righteousness while Luke’s parables emphasize joy, hospitality, and justice.
So why did Jesus teach in parables? Why not just lay it out in point-by-point Aristotelian logic? For starters, Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi, not a Greek orator. Jesus was also an excellent teacher who understood the power of stories over syllogisms. The effectiveness of a story to evoke, envision, and innervate far exceeds that of other forms of persuasion. I think Jesus also understood that to connect deeply with his audiences, he had to engage with their imagination and curiosity. The story form of parables was a most potent vehicle for Jesus to communicate the possibilities of a world in which “we can be on hand for the kingdom, which is at hand but not in hand,” in Christopher Morse’s memorable phrase.
This fall, our sermon series is on the parables of Jesus and is titled “Kingdom Stories: Portraits of God’s Present Future.” Together we’ll explore how seeds and coins, sheep and weeds, pearls and wineskins, all can open up our understanding of God’s kingdom reign as it unfolds in the present, in promise of its full revelation in the future.
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