Course Guidelines Path 1 Calendar Class Discussion Path 2 Groups & Texts Writing Assignments Reference Texts

 


ornamental line

The Way, the Truth, and the Parable

"'Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water,
but thick and dark like blood'" (50).
C. S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces (1956)

 

Points for Reflection

The Bible: Matthew 5:33-46 / Loving Enemies

  1. Jesus opposes oaths of any kind, those pointing to the Divine as well as those anchored to the terrestrial. Why?
  2. In addition to simplicity, what other benefits can you identify in merely saying "yes" or "no" when asked to make a promise?


The Bible: John 10:1-21 / The Good Shepherd

  1. Do the metaphors used in Jesus' description of his relationship to his followers require a major in agriculture, or ownership of a farm, to comprehend fully?
  2. Jesus likens himself to both a door and a shepherd in this passage; why might he include both images instead of only one?
  3. What particular attribute of the shepherd compells his flock's fidelity and attention?
  4. To whom might Jesus be referring when he speaks of "other sheep that are not of this fold" (v.16)?
  5. Jesus does not always explain figures of speech, though in this case he does. Consider this as we look at other metaphors and parables today. What are the advantages, for readers, of his explaining--and what advantages accrue when he does not explain?
  6. Do you think Jesus' definition of a "good sheperd" describes a normal, representative shepherd?
  7. What event does Jesus anticipate when he speaks of freely laying down his life (v.17-18)?
  8. Why might Jesus' listeners have been so divided by his words, reaching diametrically opposed conclusions about his wisdom and sanity (v.19-21)?


The Bible: Matthew 20:1-16 /Laborers in the Vineyard

  1. What response does this parable offer to those preoccupied with fairness?
  2. Does the vineyard owner's behavior seem socially unjust?
  3. Why might the vineyard owner pay the last laborers to join the workforce before those who began early in the day?
  4. The owner treats the worker in a leveling way, financially speaking, yet Jesus appears to instate some kind of hierarchy by which some "will be first" and others "last" (v.16)? Can we reconcile these closing words with the story preceding them?
  5. Does this parable concretize the notion of equity, or flip it on its head?
  6. To how many different social situations might we appropriately apply Jesus' notion of the last being first and the first last?


The Bible: Luke 18:1-8 / The Persistent Window

  1. What are the benefits, and potential drawbacks, of the writer of Luke choosing to tell us the point of a parable (v.1) before relaying the parable itself (v.2-8)?
  2. What various forms of inequity does the widow represent, if we assume--in modern parlance--that she has an "intersectional identity"? What array of factors have been stacked against her?
  3. Does Jesus link God the Father to the judge in this parable?

 

The Bible: Matthew 18:10-14 / The Wandering Sheep

  1. Your Bible may note that verse 11 appears in some but not all manuscripts, words also found in Luke 19:10: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” How does inclusion of this version alter the way one reads the parable that follows?
  2. What is the logical, utilitarian answer to the rhetorical question posed in v.12?
  3. Do sheep here represent all humans, or humans of a particular age?

 

The Bible: Luke 10:25-37 / The Good Samaritan

  1. Why does the lawyer--who quotes Hebrew scripture about loving God (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and loving your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18)--press Jesus for a definition of "neighbor"?
  2. Some have taken the priest of this parable to represent the moral law, and the Levite--as someone who might have served as a gate keeper, craftsman, or musician--as a representative of the ceremonial law. What does these characters' similar behavior suggest about the practice of their religious belief?
  3. In this historical period, Israelite Samaritans were stigmatized by the majority-- considered outsiders who, in worshipping at Mount Gerizim instead of in Jerusalem, separated themselves from the Israelite majority. Why might Jesus allow the member of a cultural minority to play the role of hero in this tale?
  4. Does the Samaritan treat his intervention as an isolated event?

 

image of distended, gargantuan toe on the beach surmounted by distended, flesh-colored, vaguely female figures against a blue ocean and sky
Religious Scene in Particle (1858)
Salvador Dali



Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu