Telling Stories
by Stewart Redwine
It is all too easy to shroud the most ancient and quite mundane human practice of story telling in a cloak of mystery. There are even those who insist on referring to stories with a proper noun, capital S story, instead of the common noun it is. A story is a simple thing; it is an account of events surrounding a contest of wills. Every day we all tell stories to and with our fellow creatures. And I don’t think it calls Jesus’ deity into question to suppose He told stories in the same way we do.Though the Gospel writers and Jesus were speaking and writing in another language, when discussing the stories Jesus told, the parables, they were referencing the richly defined word "mashal" found in the Hebrew scriptures of their day. Like most Eastern languages, Hebrew contains words that are rich with meaning. In Hebrew, “mashal" encompasses many ideas in one compact word. The definition for the word includes, but is not limited to: riddle, taunt, dark saying, lesson or story. “Mashal” means Jesus used colorful language, stories, and even actions to create illustrations for His listeners. However, when confronted with the confusing nature of Jesus’ parables, the scholarly and even pastoral penchant has been to focus on answering all the questions.
Even though one third of Jesus’ recorded teachings are in the form of a parable, most of us would be hard pressed to produce a list of them including more than “The Prodigal Son” and “The Good Samaritan”. When the parables are taught they’re often treated as an aspect of Jesus’ preaching, or considered the creative outlet for Jesus when He wasn’t talking about the serious stuff. Theologically speaking, the parables are commonly viewed through one of three lenses; historical-eschatological, art, or existential. Kenneth Bailey, author of Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes, focuses on interpreting the parables from a middle-eastern cultural perspective. The most common understanding of the parables of Jesus is; “a moral tale about everyday people and events told in such a way to make a Heavenly point”. And yet, after hundreds of years of study, many of the parables stubbornly refuse to relinquish a mutually agreed upon Heavenly point.
When Jesus first told His parables on those blistering hot Palestinian days He was perceived as part political activist and part performance artist. People traveled great distances and missed meals to hear His stories and see His miracles. There is a mystery to Jesus’ humanity and it comes out in His stories. Like us, when Jesus told a story He was relating to others events inspired by His life experience; childhood memories, late night conversations with friends, a remark He overhead in passing at the market, or savoring the taste of a fresh picked fig. Just think, maybe the day before Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son for the first time He was sitting among the cedars and happened to see an old man running to meet someone in the distance, who very well could have been his long lost son. His stories were captivating, mysterious, and grounded in the politically super charged day-to-day existence of His audience. And people still left with more questions than answers.
Being fully man means Jesus must have faced the challenges and enjoyed the elation of telling a good story just like anybody else. Sometimes it is easy to remember Jesus’ humanity solely in the terms that He was tempted and never sinned. But there is a lot more to being human than avoiding temptation. He also told stories, and some of them were great and some of them fell flat. So whatever it is you find to do try to remember this, Jesus was fully human just like you. When you find inspiration in your life to keep going, to love, to laugh, and just stand in the sun and enjoy the warmth you are taking part in the one theme that runs through all the parables. Jesus’ parables are stories about everyday people and events told in such a way to make a point about everyday people and events.
I once showed one of the 36 Parables DVDs to a teenage couple that was blasé about God. At the end of the Purple DVD the boy turned to me and said, "I don't get it, what are you trying to say?" He had assumed there had to be a catch, an iron clad take it or leave it message contained in the films. I could tell he was frustrated; and many times, so were those listening to Jesus’ parables for the first time. He asked me about the original parables and I read the Bible passages contained on the DVD. He then said, "Well Jesus didn't explain it either".
Jesus was surrounded by questions. At the beginning of Jesus’ life on earth there were questions. What child is this? At the end of His life there were questions. “Are you the king of the Jews?” At His ascension there were questions. “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” and “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?” In the same way, Jesus’ parables make us think and ask questions. Questions have a way of driving us to God, because a question begs to be answered. And the real answer, the best answer, the only answer, is a personal relationship with Him.
“He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything”. – Mark 4:34
You are in very good company when you tell stories that cause people to ask questions. Instead of taking a lesson or Truth from scripture and insisting on your audience repeating back a pat answer, you can share stories that cause them to ponder the hard questions, like Pilate’s “What is Truth?”. Don’t be afraid of telling stories with more questions at the end than answers. Those questions are how a relationship can begin between you and your audience and between your audience and God. You really can’t lose. Keep telling stories, and savor every question asked.
All the best,
Stewart Redwine - Love thy audience
www.stewartredwine.com
Even though one third of Jesus’ recorded teachings are in the form of a parable, most of us would be hard pressed to produce a list of them including more than “The Prodigal Son” and “The Good Samaritan”. When the parables are taught they’re often treated as an aspect of Jesus’ preaching, or considered the creative outlet for Jesus when He wasn’t talking about the serious stuff. Theologically speaking, the parables are commonly viewed through one of three lenses; historical-eschatological, art, or existential. Kenneth Bailey, author of Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes, focuses on interpreting the parables from a middle-eastern cultural perspective. The most common understanding of the parables of Jesus is; “a moral tale about everyday people and events told in such a way to make a Heavenly point”. And yet, after hundreds of years of study, many of the parables stubbornly refuse to relinquish a mutually agreed upon Heavenly point.
When Jesus first told His parables on those blistering hot Palestinian days He was perceived as part political activist and part performance artist. People traveled great distances and missed meals to hear His stories and see His miracles. There is a mystery to Jesus’ humanity and it comes out in His stories. Like us, when Jesus told a story He was relating to others events inspired by His life experience; childhood memories, late night conversations with friends, a remark He overhead in passing at the market, or savoring the taste of a fresh picked fig. Just think, maybe the day before Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son for the first time He was sitting among the cedars and happened to see an old man running to meet someone in the distance, who very well could have been his long lost son. His stories were captivating, mysterious, and grounded in the politically super charged day-to-day existence of His audience. And people still left with more questions than answers.
Being fully man means Jesus must have faced the challenges and enjoyed the elation of telling a good story just like anybody else. Sometimes it is easy to remember Jesus’ humanity solely in the terms that He was tempted and never sinned. But there is a lot more to being human than avoiding temptation. He also told stories, and some of them were great and some of them fell flat. So whatever it is you find to do try to remember this, Jesus was fully human just like you. When you find inspiration in your life to keep going, to love, to laugh, and just stand in the sun and enjoy the warmth you are taking part in the one theme that runs through all the parables. Jesus’ parables are stories about everyday people and events told in such a way to make a point about everyday people and events.
I once showed one of the 36 Parables DVDs to a teenage couple that was blasé about God. At the end of the Purple DVD the boy turned to me and said, "I don't get it, what are you trying to say?" He had assumed there had to be a catch, an iron clad take it or leave it message contained in the films. I could tell he was frustrated; and many times, so were those listening to Jesus’ parables for the first time. He asked me about the original parables and I read the Bible passages contained on the DVD. He then said, "Well Jesus didn't explain it either".
Jesus was surrounded by questions. At the beginning of Jesus’ life on earth there were questions. What child is this? At the end of His life there were questions. “Are you the king of the Jews?” At His ascension there were questions. “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” and “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?” In the same way, Jesus’ parables make us think and ask questions. Questions have a way of driving us to God, because a question begs to be answered. And the real answer, the best answer, the only answer, is a personal relationship with Him.
“He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything”. – Mark 4:34
You are in very good company when you tell stories that cause people to ask questions. Instead of taking a lesson or Truth from scripture and insisting on your audience repeating back a pat answer, you can share stories that cause them to ponder the hard questions, like Pilate’s “What is Truth?”. Don’t be afraid of telling stories with more questions at the end than answers. Those questions are how a relationship can begin between you and your audience and between your audience and God. You really can’t lose. Keep telling stories, and savor every question asked.
All the best,
Stewart Redwine - Love thy audience
www.stewartredwine.com
Kathy's Corner features stories from friends traveling down the road in all walks of life.
On this issue we welcome our guest Director, Director of Photography, Producer, & Writer Stewart Redwine.
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On this issue we welcome our guest Director, Director of Photography, Producer, & Writer Stewart Redwine.
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Thank You Featured Guest Writer - Stewart Redwine - From A G A Ministries Online
Follow the link to learn more about the series 36 Parables for your small group or Bible study or simply for your own library. |
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