Why
does Jesus use parables? This is an important question, and in scripture Jesus
gives us an answer Himself in scripture. But before looking there, it is good
to look at the explanation on parables given by Pope Benedict XVI in his 1st
volume on Christ titled "Jesus of Nazareth" - this is an absolute
masterpiece that I highly recommend everyone read - where for ten or so pages
he explains why the Lord uses parables. He says at all times, Jesus ultimately
preaches to reveal Himself: the Son of God come in human flesh who also thus
brings in his own person the Kingdom of God (heaven) down to earth. Thus the
parables are "hidden and multilayered invitations to faith in Jesus as the
"Kingdom of God in person'."
But
another good and shorter answer is this: PARABLES are TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU
SEE. He wants to shift how we look at the world, at our own lives, at the
direction of where our lives are headed, etc. So that we aren't hyper-focused
in our own perspective, but are conformed to God's perspective.
This
change of how we see is also found in Jesus’ own words from last week’s Gospel,
when He said: "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been
granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from
anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ...they look but do
not see and hear but do not listen or understand."
A
sort of revealing and not-revealing way at the same time.
Do you want more from God? Then be
like the good soil from last week's parable, take in a receive whatever He
gives you. We need to be humble, like that rich fertile soil, and let yourself
be changed. Give God's word lots of room in your heart, in your life, and shape
your life around it, and not it around your life. If we are doing these things
more and more, then the parables will open themselves up to us.
Jesus
says it is to the child-like that His Father has revealed the
mysteries of the kingdom, not the wise and the learned. You must live from your
identity as a child of God to receive the mysteries of these parables. If we
presume that we have outgrown them, "even what we have will be taken
away" from us.
While with my family last week, I
continued reading a book of conversion stories, one person quotes the late
Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia "When you're reading Shakespeare,
Shakespeare's not on trial -- you are." It is of course always the same
with all of scripture, including even the simplest parable of Christ like the
mustard seed and the yeast.
The
parables are powerful because they
simply test us. They put ourselves and our perspectives on trial and force
us to see the world the way the parable sees the world, the way that God wants
to see the world. Because these simple stories are given to us by the Word of
God in the flesh, we do not get to say: "oh there is a mistake here. I see
where it is wrong." No, when you gaze
into the mirror of the parables of Jesus, if there is something wrong, the
error we see is in ourselves reflected in that mirror. We need to make the
necessary adjustments to conform to what these parables are saying. It may be a
rude awakening, but it is a freedom.
We may feel unsure and unsteady, but we are beginning to learn to walk instead
of just crawl. So it's worth it.
St.
Paul in Romans 12:2 (we will read it
on Aug. 30th this year as we progress through the highlights of this letter)
has a beautiful passage about changing the way we see, the way we think about
thinks. - "Do not be conformed to the wisdom of this age, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may know what is the will if
God, what is good, and pleasing, and perfect."
This
is the work of the parables: to transform and renew our minds. All parables
force us to look through the lends of physical realities, so that we may see
beyond them to the invisible realities that are more real, more true, than what
is so constantly in front of us.
The parables are glimpses of heaven. They are small visions of God's heart, God's
mind, and God's plans for our lives and our futures. Jesus himself says,
"With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use
for it?" (Mk. 4) "The Kingdom of heaven is like..." (a man who
sows good seed in a field... a mustard seed that is sowed in the ground
He is trying to show us heaven. With
the business of our lives, with the noise
It
is forcing us to think about only what our eyes can see, to drag our attention
only to the visible reality that is part of our lives and at the same time to
ignore (and ultimately forget) the invisible realities that are also part of
our lives, and realities that will actually endure - things that are really
more important. So we end up getting sucked into the wrong story. We end up
interpreting the world and every single part of our own lives and everything
else, every way that we judge our lives and other people's lives, - all of that
gets forced into this wrong perspective.
Jesus
wants these parables help us to change our vision to focus on heaven, but it is
too much for us to take in at once, and that is why we get parables. Heaven to
the fallen human mind is like the sun to the eyes - or even just the full light
of day when we walk out of a dark place - our minds are simply
overwhelmed and conquered by it.
So let us allow these parables to work
on our hearts.
weeds and wheat: (revealed in
private because these disciples already live from their identity as children of
God) Jesus explains that this is all about heaven. All of our lives need to be
put in perspective of the end of things when we will be separated and those who
are bearing good fruit will be taken into his barn. Everything in our lives -
how much money am I making? Am I successful? how many friends do I have? have I
been a good son or daughter? brother or sister? - all of this must be
considered from the final perspective of where our life is headed, and thus we
can live our lives every day more in accord with what we were truly made for.
The message is: remember where we are headed.
mustard seed: He wants us to
see the invisible power of his grace to work in our lives and transform it, and
thus transform the world. Think of Therese - that "little flower"
like the smallest of seeds, whose hidden life of 24 years (8 in a convent)
simply has transformed the world more than Caesar Augustus or George
Washington. So many have "nested" in this life and have found.
yeast: God's grace, and the Christian
life itself, does not destroy the good of this world and our lives, but rather
lifts them up to be more full.
Let
us allow the Lord to continue to work on our hearts through these parables. We
need to be transformed in our mind - and one way to do that is to pray through
these parables of Jesus - here and many others.
This
is how we may be renewed and healed from the false perspective of this world,
from all of the lies that have been pushed on us. All those weeds that the
devil has sown in our minds in our hearts - the Lord wants to purify us of
that. We need to let Him work on us through praying with these parables, we
need to spend time looking at heaven, and see the true reality that God wants us
to live within every single day, the true story that He wants us to be part of.
