The box hadn’t seen daylight for a while. I blew the dust off and opened the lid. There it was, wrapped in bubble wrap, just the way I had left it. I peeled back each layer and lifted the beautiful glass bowl. It gleamed in the sunlight, a thousand little prisms dancing on the wall.
And in the next second, those little prisms became jagged shards, littering the floor, a beautiful bowl no more. I’m not even sure what happened. I had always handled this bowl with intention and diligence, and in an instant, years of painstaking care was obliterated.
What is it about a story? Why is it that our ears are drawn to story? More importantly, why did Jesus use parables?
Matthew 13: 34-5 brought the question to mind. It says: “I will open my mouth in parable; I will declare things kept secret from the foundations of the world.” This was all to fulfill the prophecies.
A parable, by definition, is a simply story used to convey a moral or spiritual lesson.
As Jesus met with crowds, he used parable to draw them in. To answer the question I posed earlier, people’s ears are drawn to story. Perhaps they are nosy; perhaps, they seek themselves in the story. Perhaps, they relate to the content of the story and wonder, “How was the conflict resolved? What did that person, or character, do in that situation?”
The narrative structure of story helps the reader to organize and analyze information in a logical format. Creation was, among other things, order from chaos, and the human mind seeks to do the same with regard to life.
To simply start preaching (e.g. John the Baptist style) was effective with small groups of people who were also seekers, AND, as a result, it elicited confrontation from others whose ears were not ready to hear. To simply attest the truth blatantly would have invited argument and debate, particularly with the Pharisees. It would have been more counterproductive as unbelievers/seekers would have been discouraged and disgusted (much as people today are) and would have walked away, negating Christ’s intentions and earthly purposes.
In story, the message is inferred. Those who are truly seeking will find (as promised in Matthew 7:7). These “secrets” will be/were revealed to those who really want/wanted to know/learn them and believe. Those who don’t seek or believe simply hear a lame, seemingly purposeless and most definitely, confusing story, BUT all is not lost. They have heard it. A seed is planted. What happens next is described in Matt 13: 1-8.
Parables have morals to the story, which are obtainable, digestible, and meaningful to those who want them. They indicate how a believer should proceed; in addition, they provide the road map on how to do it.
There was no “fix” for the bowl. All the care that had gone into preserving and protecting it proved to be futile in the end. The real tragedy of the bowl is that it sat idle in a box for most of its “shelf life.” Bowls were created to be used, not sit on shelves, waiting for a special occasion. As a result, bowls get nicked, they get scratched, the finish becomes dull, and yes, they break. What’s the moral to the story?
You decide.
No comments:
Post a Comment