“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who will produce its fruit.’” (Matthew 21:43)
We are people who live by stories. We have cultural stories that motivate us to action, like the American Dream or hero narratives. We have family stories that give us a sense of identity, such as those of our hazily remembered ancestors or family memories from years gone by. We have stories playing inside our hearts and minds, some good and others not so good, which shape the way we live our daily lives. We live by stories.
The Christian faith is a storied faith. Rooted in the great histories of the people of Israel, we live our faith in light of Abraham and Sarah’s pursuit of God from Ur to Canaan, Moses’ response to God at the burning bush, Ruth’s faithful return with Naomi to her homeland, David’s battle with Goliath, and more. These stories shape our view of God, our understanding of ourselves, and our sense of what God is doing in the world.
Because we live by stories and our faith is a storied faith, Jesus often taught through parables. Parables are little stories drawn from everyday life, thrown alongside teaching to bring it to vibrant life in a riveting and often shocking way. In this section of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells three piercing parables to push back against His hearers’ distorted view of God, themselves, and their world. Knowing they were living by distorted stories, Jesus stops them in their tracks so He can lovingly lead them into real life with God. Some who heard the parables welcomed the disorientation of Jesus’ stories, while others became angry or checked out.
What about us? Do we live by Jesus’ story of the kingdom of God? Or have we substituted something else, such as a false story about God, ourselves, or the world? Maybe this Lent, we can ask Jesus to pierce us afresh with His parables of the kingdom.
For reflection:
- What is one of your favorite Bible stories and why? Maybe you can retell it to someone.
- Based on what you read in these parables how would you describe the kingdom of God?
- What captures your attention most in these three parables?
by Matt Erickson
Week 3 Family Talk
In today’s Bible passages, Jesus is speaking to the chief priest, Pharisees and the elders of the Jewish people. These were people who spent a lot of time reading and thinking about the Old Testament. They thought they had a clear view of God, his kingdom and themselves, but they were wrong.
Jesus used stories called parables to confront the elders and to reveal how the kingdom of God was different than their expectations. These stories help us, too. Parables challenge our expectations, beg questions, and give us glimpses of God’s kingdom.
Parents, you may want to read and discuss one parable a day over the next three days.
The Parable of the Two Sons
- Before you read: A son says that he won’t obey his father. What do you think
will happen?- Read: Matthew 21: 28-32
- Question: Who obeyed the father? How was that different than your expectation?
The elders expected that they were obeying God. They followed a lot of rules – some from the Bible and some extra ones that they added. They thought they were pleasing God, but Jesus is pointing out that everyone has sinned and what pleases God is repentance.
The Parable of the Tenants
- Before you read: What should happen at a farm?
- Read: Matthew 21:33-46
- Question: What happened at this vineyard? How was that different than your expectation?
The elders had been leaders of the Jewish people for a long time. Jesus is telling them that their job was to produce fruit – show God’s glory, love and goodness to the nations around them and lead people to repentance, and they hadn’t done it.
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
- Before you read: Who would you expect to be at a fancy party?
- Read: Matthew 22:1-14
- Question: Who came to the king’s party? How was that different than your expectation?
The Pharisees and the elders expected that only the right sort of people (them) would be invited to join the king. Jesus shows them that all sorts of people are invited to come to the kingdom.
Reflection Questions:
- What other questions did you have from the parables?
- What do you learn about the kingdom of heaven? How is it different than you expected?
by Colleen Mittag
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