Matthew 13: 31-35
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds,yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush,and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.” He spoke to them another parable. “The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.
Watching bread rise is more exciting than watching paint dry, but still not as exciting as just about anything else, yet for the baker it is a time of anxiety---will the yeast work---will the loaf rise? Anyone who has planted a seed in the garden knows that waiting for the first blade to rise, much less the first fruit to appear, is a time of anxiety---will the seed sprout---will it bare fruit?
As a teacher, Jesus didn’t just tell his students the answers. He taught in parables so that those who thirsted to know might ponder the message that was contained within them. Parables, like other forms of human utterance, need to be situated in a context that is graspable by the hearers, so Jesus spoke to the people with allusions that came from their own experiences. If we do not study Jesus’ parables, then the truths that have been hidden “since the foundation of the world” will remain hidden to us, and the harvest will be anxiety.
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds,yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush,and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.” He spoke to them another parable. “The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.
Watching bread rise is more exciting than watching paint dry, but still not as exciting as just about anything else, yet for the baker it is a time of anxiety---will the yeast work---will the loaf rise? Anyone who has planted a seed in the garden knows that waiting for the first blade to rise, much less the first fruit to appear, is a time of anxiety---will the seed sprout---will it bare fruit?
As a teacher, Jesus didn’t just tell his students the answers. He taught in parables so that those who thirsted to know might ponder the message that was contained within them. Parables, like other forms of human utterance, need to be situated in a context that is graspable by the hearers, so Jesus spoke to the people with allusions that came from their own experiences. If we do not study Jesus’ parables, then the truths that have been hidden “since the foundation of the world” will remain hidden to us, and the harvest will be anxiety.
1 comment:
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