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Christianity retold

New Testament

Commentary: The Lost Garnet Luke 15: 8-10

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Image by starbright from Pixabay

The Lost Garnet is based on Luke 15: 8-10.

The Coin

I often find lost coins without searching for them. Coins nowadays are of so little value that I frequently find them on the streets, where someone’s dropped them. Far from searching frantically for them, people didn’t bother to stoop and pick them up.

In the UK, the highest value coin we have is £2. If a modern Jesus asked us if we’d search every nook and cranny of our homes for a £2 coin, the answer would be ‘errr… no?’ We’d have to be completely broke to be that desperate.

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Commentary: The Sourdough Starter-Matthew 13:33

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Image by Thomas Bock from Pixabay

The Sourdough Starter is based on Matthew 13: 33

The original parable is only one verse long; this isn’t so much a retelling as an expansion.

Breadmaking

Nowadays, it’s a bit of a judgement call whether people will be familiar with breadmaking. The advantage of factory baked bread is that it makes a staple part of the diet cheap and readily available. A disadvantage is that it’s now possible to not have a clue how to make bread.

Jesus, however, could assume his audience would all be able to fill in the gaps. They’d know that the woman would need to add water to the flour/yeast mix. Then, they’d know that once the yeast was working through, the bread would rise. They’d also realise that only the risen dough would be baked into bread and just how much bread ‘three measures of flour’ would make (a lot). Even if they’d never personally baked a loaf of bread in their lives, they’d have seen it being done.

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Comment: The Watchful House Sitter-Luke 12:35-38

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Late night worker
Image by Ambady Sasi from Pixabay

The Watchful House Sitter is based on Luke 12: 35-38

Two Parables

This is an example of a parable that still exists in its two different forms. The version in Luke ends with the master rewarding his slaves by serving them a meal. But there’s another version in Mark (Mark 13: 32-37) which concentrates on the doorkeeper.

The most common explanation is that – in a world where ‘social media’ consisted of sending an expensive letter – Jesus varied his standard parables to make slightly different points. So Mark picked the version emphasising the loyal doorkeeper, watching through the night. Luke chose the version where the slaves working overtime being rewarded with their own party.

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