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Christianity retold

Archives for April 2023

Parables that shouldn’t be retold?

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Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

‘I Am’

Between them, the gospels often include several versions of the same parable. The Flower Seeds and the Pots is a retelling of Luke 8: 5-8, but I could have picked the version told in Matthew 13: 3-8 (and elsewhere, I’ve retold Mark 4: 3-9). They’re all obviously the same basic parable – but with different flourishes.

This happens often enough that it suggests that (as I’ve said in other posts) Jesus varied his parables to suit the needs of his audiences. Varying (or retelling) parables to suit the needs of our modern audience follows in that Jesus-tradition.

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Commentary: The Teacher’s Voice (John 10: 1-5)

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Image by Marjan from Pixabay

The Teacher’s Voice is based on John 10:1-5

The Image of the Shepherd

The country I live in has been shaped by over a thousand years of Christianity. One result is that the image of the shepherd-leader is very familiar. Another is that – even in an urban environment – the image of the shepherd is very popular. TV programmes about shepherds, for example, get reasonable viewing figures.

That creates a problem for parables about shepherds, because shepherding in the modern UK is very different from shepherding in Judea and Galilee. In the UK, like much of Northern Europe, pasture is easy to find. Like much of Northern Europe, wool was historically a major (and very profitable) industry. The Northern European shepherd doesn’t have to search for pasture; instead, they walk behind the flock, driving them in the direction they need to go.

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The Teacher’s Voice (John 10:1-5)

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Image by Marjan from Pixabay

The Teacher’s Voice is based on John 10:1-5

Look, I’m telling you, someone who doesn’t go in to school by the gate, but climbs over the fence: they’re a thief – or worse. Who comes in by the gate? The teacher! The receptionist is glad to let him in! Then he goes and calls his class by name; he leads them, whether it’s in school or out on a school trip.

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