Thoughts for the Day

Then the disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.....  The reason I speak to them in parables is that “seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.” With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:

“You will indeed listen, but never understand,
and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.”

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I have always loved using stories and quirky thoughts in sermons, most not of my own making, but stories gathered over many years. Thoughts like this from Anthony de Mello: The sheep had escaped, and a wolf was right behind him, when the shepherd rescued him and took him home. But the shepherd did not block up the hole in the fence. The story is based on Luke 15.3-7, but has a quirky thought-provoking ending.

Jesus was the master of parables (stories with heavenly meanings) and he used them to great effect. They have also stood the test of time! But exactly why did he use them? The most obvious answer is that it would have been difficult for his enemies to accuse him of subversion - after all they were just stories - even though in the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25.1-13) Jesus is presented as the bridegroom with power to welcome or reject people, presumably into Heaven.

Jesus also used parables to teach the people - to make a point in a way they would understand, as well as to encourage the faithful. Stories like the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13.1-9) were meant to enlighten those who were genuinely seeking God. But often parables were also used to make people choose, in effect to divide his listeners. The Parable of the Sheep and Goats is intended to make people think - were they the sheep gathered into the fold, or the goats who were thrown away? (Matthew 25.31-46)

We too must take these parables seriously and apply their message to our lives.

Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank You for these stories
that we know so well.
Help us not to take them for granted,
but to extract from them the Heavenly meaning,
and apply their message to our lives.
Amen.