We get little bursts of wisdom here and there, so that we can get the gist of what the Lord wants us to know. Story telling is an ancient, and wonderful way of imparting generational knowledge. Not everyone is good at it, but most anyone enjoys listening and getting drawn into a good story. As such, parables have a way of disarming us so that we can let our guard down - at least long enough to be convicted by the Holy Spirit. They are much more effective than pulling us aside and pointing out our sins directly. Parables act as a buffer between ourselves and the raw, unabashed truth of God's Word.
Our adult Sunday School class at church is beginning a study on parables just this week. I believe it will be extremely beneficial to break down and study not only what Jesus told his followers, but what Moses and the other prophets recounted in the Old Testament. Parables exist in both places in the Bible, and provide us with a rich understanding about the culture in which they were told.
There are a handful of topics that exist when it comes to the more modern parables of Christ. Jesus often recounts stories about salvation for example. Imagine trying to explain to first century people, how the God of Jacob and Abraham decided to work through Jesus to make atonement for the sins of the world! A technical step by step explanation simply won't do; so Jesus used stories instead.
Many of his parables involved agricultural metaphors. C.S. Lewis once stated that Christianity can be thought of as a 'dying and rising' religion. The seed goes down dead into the ground, but rises later in the season with enough sun and rain. And so it is with Christ's resurrection on the cross as well. He died, then rose again three days later. It is hard to miss this connection to nature and farming.
Another common type of parable discussed judgement. Jesus would often outline the danger or consequences of doing something adjacent to the will of God. Take for instance the story of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16. We are told that since the rich man never stopped to help the poor beggar Lazarus during his time on Earth, he would live in torment in the afterlife. The lesson was clear - help those in need whenever possible.
We so often learn best when we can equate something we understand from our daily lives into the story itself. When I first began filling the pulpit as a guest preacher, my struggle was using too many facts and Scripture passages at the same time. When I go back and read some of my older sermons, I actually feel bad for the congregation at the time! I had too many touch-points, and not enough story telling. It probably sounded like I was reading a text book or Biblical commentary.
Since then, I have strived to make a change in that regard. What most people care about is a good story. Many of the most effective preachers today will weave the Scriptures into a cohesive personal story on Sunday morning. Following this example set for us by Jesus yields dividends over time. Once I made the switch from regurgitating facts and axioms over to Scriptural storytelling, things got better quickly.
I believe that we should be studying the parables in the same manner today. Our challenge of course, is that we are reading two-thousand year old stories with 21st century eyes. This forces us to spend time researching what the parables actually mean, how they connect to other passages in the Bible, and what life was like back then. If we neglect this important contextual step, it becomes tempting to skew the meaning in favor of modern fads or norms. Remember that Jesus was neither Republican or Democrat, He was a Jewish teacher and God's son. Once we remember this, his stories begin to take on a different tone.
One thing remains clear to me: we need God's spiritual training and stories just as much now as we did then. Times change, but the human heart does not. We still often gravitate toward the flesh and toward sin. We are subject to pride and lust. We sometimes rebel and resist a Holy God. He knows this, so He left us a group of stories that we can read as many times as we need to. It wouldn't hurt to commit them to our hearts while we are at it.
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