From Elie Weisel: When tragedy would threaten Israel the Baal Shem Tov would go into the holy forest, light the sacred fire, say the special prayer and Israel would be saved. His successor was not the man he was and when tragedy next threatened Israel Rabbi Ezekiel had forgotten the location of the holy forest but he lit the sacred fire and said the special prayer and it was enough. Israel would be saved. His successor was not the man he was so when tragedy next threatened Israel Rabbi Jacov couldn’t find the forest and had forgotten how to light the sacred fire but he said the special prayer and it was enough. Israel would be saved. His successor was not the man he was. When next tragedy threatened Israel Rabbi Moshe moaned: Dear God, I don’t know where the holy forest is. I can’t remember how to light the sacred fire. And I’ve forgotten the special prayer. All I can do is tell the stories of my ancestors. And it was enough. Israel was saved because God loves stories.
Jesus loved stories. We call them the parables. They were his preferred method of teaching. He didn’t use the catechism. He left no credal statements. He pronounced no theological truths. He spoke of farmers and fisherman and merchants and homemakers and fathers with wayward children and landlords and losing your money and getting mugged on the road. Stories about ordinary people doing ordinary things. These are narratives of normalcy. Yet, Jesus said these stories reveal the kingdom of God. There is nothing particularly religious about these stories – in the parables of Jesus people aren’t praying, angels aren’t appearing, bushes aren’t burning. People are living – and God is present. Jesus tells stories so that we will discover that the extraordinary can be found in the ordinary.
One thing to notice in the parables of Jesus is that they are about something happening. The kingdom of God is not a seed but a man scattering seed on the land. The kingdom of God is not a mustard seed and a mustard seed that grows to become a large bush and houses the birds. The kingdom of God is not a pearl of great price or a treasure hidden in a field but a merchant searching for a pearl or a treasure. The parables are about turning points, about something new. The kingdom of God is hidden in plain sight in the midst of the ordinary stuff of life but uncovering it only happens when we make the turn, when we do a double take. Look, for example, the parable of the mustard seed. Jesus emphasizes the growth is all out of proportion. How can something so little produce something so big? That reveals the kingdom of God because something similar happens in us when we make the turn of faith. We are overwhelmed by the God who is more than our hopes and dreams. We try to domesticate God, to fit God into our plans. But the kingdom of God is much larger than we had imagined and to uncover its presence requires moving beyond our little comfort zone and letting God take us into the world where people who don’t look like us, or talk like us, or think like us matter to us since they are part of God’s world. And did you notice, Jesus is careful to say not what the kingdom of God is but what “the kingdom of God is like…” You know how a menu will say “a la,” a la mode, a la carte? While there is no hard and fast definition of the kingdom of God a la Jesus but it contains elements of surprise, reversal, growth, paradox, imagination, paradox.
Which leads to another aspect of Jesus teaching in parables: we must complete the parables in our own lives. Nowhere does Jesus tell us what the kingdom of God means beyond “it is as if a man were to scatter seed” or “it is like a mustard seed.” No definition, no description beyond the images. If we want to understand how the kingdom of God is like scattered seed or birds in the branches of a mustard bush, we must answer for ourselves. And here’s the important point – our answer is the right one. Oh, the scripture scholars can provide the historical background and the cultural context. The poor preacher can give you his or her interpretation. But the fact is that Jesus did not produce a list of the characteristics of the kingdom of God that we can put on three by five note cards and tape to our refrigerator to memorize. Any interpretation of the parable must be personal. And – this is the why teaching in parables was necessary for Jesus – since we complete the parable in our own lives it demands a response, an action on our part. We can’t define the kingdom of God or describe the kingdom of God we can only become the kingdom of God. By teaching in parables Jesus modeled that right now today we are surrounded by the kingdom of God if we have the eyes to see and the willingness to act. Everything is, or can be, a parable. To what shall we compare the kingdom of God or what parable can we use for it? Life. Life itself.
From Anthony DeMello: I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the name of the store: The Truth Shop. The saleswoman was very polite. What type of truth did I wish to purchase, partial or whole? The whole truth, of course. No deceptions, no defenses, no rationalizations. I wanted my truth plain and unadulterated. She waved me on to the back of the store. It looked dusty, little used and cobwebby. The salesman pointed to the price tag. “The price is very high, sir,” he said. “What is it,” I asked, determined to get the whole truth, no matter what it cost. “Your security, sir,” he answered. I came away with a heavy heart. I still need the safety of my unquestioned beliefs.
