Once I met a person who interpreted everything, or almost everything in the world, from the perspective of political ideology. Anything she commented about was either good or bad, hopeful or unfortunate, depending where it stood on the perceived political spectrum or more precisely, whether she thought it helped or hindered the success of her political party. At first it was refreshing, but soon it became quite tedious. Thus I discovered that some Democrats can be as narrowmindedly dogmatic as many Republicans. Ideological politics was her pervading frame of reference, her dominant context. Although I shared similar political leanings, I soon felt profoundly sorry for her, because life is so much broader, full of colors and infused with vibrant fragrances which all are beyond any political ideology!
Thankfully our faith presents us with wider and more vibrant alternatives. Just listen and observe the broader context of Jesus’ parables and sayings. Either we can analyze each parable one by one, in the way it is often done in churches, and try to discern what the yeast, or a feast, budding tree, or workers fee can teach us about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Or we can look at the broader narrative context of these parables together and hear what they tell us about the world in which they were coined and told.
When we read Jesus’ parables in this diagonal fashion, then we discover not only the bucolic world of Palestinian farmers, deeply rooted in their agricultural life with earthy and rich metaphors of sowing and growing and reaping and animal husbandry. In addition we also discover a world which was familiar with unemployed day laborers, with repossessed fertile land left uncultivated, with robbers waiting around main roads, and with beggars picking in the rich peoples’ trash, with parents forced to beg and borrow food for their hungry children. We are not learning anything directly about the Kingdom of God, but we are introduced into something even more important; we observe Jesus’ world, his audience, their fears, aspirations, challenges and hopes. We see the Kingdom of God in a broader, richer context in which we can identify our own fears, aspirations, challenges and hopes.
Come this Sunday to apply this diagonal reading and understanding to the biblical love song. Come to search, uncover and celebrate the helpful and hopeful overarching context of the biocentric biblical love.
Thankfully our faith presents us with wider and more vibrant alternatives. Just listen and observe the broader context of Jesus’ parables and sayings. Either we can analyze each parable one by one, in the way it is often done in churches, and try to discern what the yeast, or a feast, budding tree, or workers fee can teach us about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Or we can look at the broader narrative context of these parables together and hear what they tell us about the world in which they were coined and told.
When we read Jesus’ parables in this diagonal fashion, then we discover not only the bucolic world of Palestinian farmers, deeply rooted in their agricultural life with earthy and rich metaphors of sowing and growing and reaping and animal husbandry. In addition we also discover a world which was familiar with unemployed day laborers, with repossessed fertile land left uncultivated, with robbers waiting around main roads, and with beggars picking in the rich peoples’ trash, with parents forced to beg and borrow food for their hungry children. We are not learning anything directly about the Kingdom of God, but we are introduced into something even more important; we observe Jesus’ world, his audience, their fears, aspirations, challenges and hopes. We see the Kingdom of God in a broader, richer context in which we can identify our own fears, aspirations, challenges and hopes.
Come this Sunday to apply this diagonal reading and understanding to the biblical love song. Come to search, uncover and celebrate the helpful and hopeful overarching context of the biocentric biblical love.
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| Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526-1593) - Flora. |
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