Christianity retold
The Unforgiving Debtor is based on Matthew 18: 23-34
What’s God’s Nation like? Imagine a man who traded in futures. He borrowed some money, from a loan company, to cover a loss. Then he lost more than he had (again!), so he borrowed more money, then more money…
[Read more…] about The Unforgiving Debtor (Matthew 18: 23-34)
Can we understand a parable – or at least, can people start to puzzle out its meaning – without any interpretation or ‘translation’ by a preacher? Even if they’ve never read the Bible in their lives, and may have no concept of ‘God’?
In this blog I’ve asked the question ‘Does this parable need retelling?’ a few times. But there are two parables where I’d give an answer of ‘Almost certainly not’.
[Read more…] about Parables That Don’t Need Retelling
The Lost Sons is based on Luke 15: 11-32
This is one of the ‘big’, well-known parables. It’s also a pretty big parable in length, with three distinct sections: the younger boy goes away, he returns, the father celebrates, the older boy goes away. There is no final ending, it’s left open.
One problem in retelling is that the first two sections (The Prodigal Son) are very well known, to the extent that people frequently think they’re what the parable is about. The return of the younger son has been the subject of a lot of famous paintings; ‘prodigal’ now often means someone who repents and returns.
Another problem in retelling is that because we emphasise the first two parts, we tend to associate this parable with ‘everyone who repents is welcome’. Yes, it is saying that. But not just that.
And the final problem in retelling is that the older son just can’t catch a break. Either his part gets missed out entirely, or he’s cast as some kind of villain-of-the-piece. This is something increasingly noticed in the more modern commentaries; older commentaries tended to make the older son a ‘Pharisee’ allegory and then assume he had no good points whatsoever.
[Read more…] about Commentary: The Lost Sons – Luke 15:11-32The Lost Sons is based on Luke 15: 11-32
A single father had two sons. When the younger boy reached eighteen, he said to his dad, “Look, Dad, you own six shops and I don’t want to wait for years and years to inherit. Can’t I just have my share now?”
The father looked at his younger son. “Look, Son, everything I have is tied up in those shops. The profit from them is what we live on. But if you want, I’ll sign over two of them to you.”
[Read more…] about The Lost Sons – Luke 15: 11-32
The Lost Garnet is based on Luke 15: 8-10.
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.
[Read more…] about Commentary: The Lost Garnet Luke 15: 8-10The Lost Garnet is based on Luke 15: 8-10.
There was a woman who had a garnet necklace, which was of great sentimental value. One day, one of the garnets fell off and she lost it.
[Read more…] about The Lost Garnet – Luke 15:8-10