Luke

The Unproductive Biotech Company is based on Luke 13: 6-9

Retelling the Unfruitful Fig Tree

• Jesus used a fig tree in a vineyard, so he was probably thinking about individuals. Not Israel as a whole.
• A fig tree is supposed to produce figs! The parable is about people not doing what they’re ‘meant’ to do.
• The fig tree might just need a bit of help (loosening the soil, adding fertiliser).

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The Rich Idiot is based on Luke 12: 16-20

Why Retell?

This is a parable that can still be understood without explanation. Farmers still exist and they still have bumper crops. They still rebuild their barns (though nowadays, they’d probably be rebuilding them into self-catering holiday homes). There are a few points we’d miss (if the rich fool is discussing things with himself, he’s got no friends), but even a modern, urban audience will still ‘get’ the main point.

So why retell?

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Churchwarden and Salesman is based on Luke 18:10-14

People retell this parable a lot and it generally ends up being set in a church – mainly because, for Christians, ‘church’ is shorthand for ‘God will be listening,’ as well as ‘a holy place’. Another place to set the parable might be a cathedral; a place that both very pious and less pious people might end up being together.

The Original Setting

The original setting of this parable is the Temple, in Jerusalem. In Jesus’ time, the Temple was the place where Heaven met Earth; to go to pray in the Temple was to go to pray in the presence of God. The parable doesn’t mention the daily sacrifices, but the original audience would be well aware that the Temple was also where you made sacrifices to God for your sins. That holy Temple was deliberately destroyed by the Romans; the only part that’s survived to modern times is the Western Wall.

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The Persistent Widow is based on Luke 18:2-8.

The judge’s job is to do justice, and by God, he will do justice by the time the widow is finished with him.

(Theology at Work Project: Persistence)

Who Would the Judge Be?

The judge in Jesus’ parable seems to be be someone who’d decide on disputes between neighbours. Other than that, it’s unclear whether he’s a ‘judge’ in the style of previous biblical judges, or a Roman appointee. The important points about him are that he doesn’t fear God (shocking, if he’s a biblical style judge) and doesn’t care what people think.

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