Scripture: Matthew 13:11-13
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. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 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.’
Thought for the Day: Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, professor of New Testament at Vanderbilt Seminary, has a book about the parables entitled: Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi. In the book, Levine quotes the Matthew Passage from above, though translating the word secrets as mystery. She writes, “Mystery is here not indicative of something arcane or in need of a special key to unlock a singular meaning. What makes the parables mysterious, or difficult, is that they challenge us to look into the hidden aspects of our own values, our own lives…For our own comfort, we may want to foreclose the meaning rather than allow the parables to open into multiple interpretations.” It is our nature to ‘foreclose’ or extract a single meaning, yet when we do so, we are squeezing the Holy Spirit out of the parable, leaving a lifeless carcass whose only purpose is to reinforce what we already believe to be right. There is something that causes uneasiness in leaving the parables open, yet that is exactly what Jesus did.
Prayer: Holy and Mysterious God, bring your spirit-infused stories into our lives so that they work upon us, not simply in the initial hearing, but whenever an evocative Word is needed. Amen.
THIS MORNING
First Sunday of Lent
Worship at 8:15, 9;30 & 11:00
Consider a Gift to:
