August 2018 – Peter D. Snow, Author

Rules for Reading Parables

August 23, 2018August 28, 2018
by peterdsnow

How to use a Parable:

These are simple illustrations, sometimes of no more than a single sentence, but at other times running on as a complete story. “You cannot gather figs from thistles.” Is an example of the short parable and the story of the Prodigal Son being of the longer variety. First thing to remember is these parables were meant to be simple illustrations that ordinary people could easily understand. The parable was not meant to confuse or hide the truth. The only people who could not understand them were the clergy. They did not want to understand but rather argue. A contemporary method of teaching was to argue using different points of view and quoting the writings of other men. The discussion on abstruse points of observance of the law might go on for days. After all there was no TV or other distraction. This was not Jesus’ way, after all you can’t argue with a parable.

Each of Jesus’ parables is a simile.

Many of them begin with the words, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” Jesus style is recognizable and after reading a few of them they have a rhythm about them that can be identified as uniquely Jesus of Nazareth. Further these similes only occur in the synoptic gospels, and not the gospel of John. That writer puts in Jesus’ mouth teaching expressed in metaphor rather than simile. That is another story we may eventually get around to telling.

Jesus states the subject of the parable in the first phrase of the parable.

The point of the parable will therefore be about what that person or object does. This might seem obvious, but it is not. Preachers, teachers and eminent theologians have got parables wrong for centuries all because they missed who or what the subject of the parable was. It is very difficult to understand a parable if you begin with the wrong assumptions. The perfect example of this is a parable referred to as that of the Dishonest Steward. For two thousand years the point of this parable has been missed entirely because would be interpreters have concentrated on the figure of the dishonest steward. Jesus tells us in the first line who it is about, “There was a rich man who had a steward.” It is about the rich man, and it is about what he does that matters not the machinations of the grotesque figure of the steward. The same thing happens in the Prodigal Son story, the Sower, the Weeds, Treasure hidden in a field, Pearl of Great Price and several more.

Where is the Parable told

Farming, fishing and everyday life of the laborer belong naturally in the area of Galilee. The Man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, the story of the Good Samaritan belongs in Jerusalem, as does several other parables that belong in the city rather than the countryside. It is very important for us to understand what kind of people were listening to him, and what kind of expertise and experience of the world was common to them. Jesus intentionally involved the people in his teaching method. So the story of the woman making bread no doubt had mouths watering at the thought of new baked bread.

Who was he talking to

This is similar to the last one. Ask who was he talking to and you get some surprising answers. The Prodigal Son story is told to a group of clergy and business entrepreneurs. Their respective behavior is very germane to understanding the dynamics behind that whole section of five parables. Let your imagination loose. It has an important role in thoroughly understanding Jesus’ teaching.

What was the question that set off the discussion that precipitated the parable?

Jesus did not go about dripping parables indiscriminately nor did he do sermon preparation. Each was an illustration to clinch his point made in conversation or discussion. We see this a couple of times, the Lawyer who asks “Who is my neighbor?” is one example. This takes a little patience to figure out. If the parable is about the Kingdom of God then you know the discussion and question that preceded it was about that subject. Reflecting on what the question might have been assists a great deal with narrowing the quest for the parable’s meaning.

What did the subject of the parable do or say

It is in what the subject did or said that the key to the parable resides. The host of the marriage feast tells his servants to go out and bring everyone into the feast. Here is the key. Jesus is saying in effect, everyone is invited, but those who chose not to respond will not get a smell of the banquet.

Jesus often used couplets.

He would use two parables together to build a deeper understanding of a point. For example, the mustard seed grows and grows, and yeast grows and grows in a piece of dough. Take a moment to consider what the dough does to the flour and water and you get a glimmer of what the gospel does inside you. The parables of the mustard seed and yeast in the dough, of the good shepherd and lost coin, the sower and the weeds or tares, treasure in a field and pearl of great price are all examples of couplets that Jesus carefully crafts to illustrate the deeper truths in any question.

Avoid all interpretation

Any time the parables are explained in the gospels, you know you are dealing with someone’s interpretation which they then put into Jesus’ mouth. He never had to explain any parable, for they were meant for the fishermen and farm laborers in front of him that day. Meditating over the parables without the interpretation produces profound understanding, but keep it to yourself till you have made it part of you. Let the parable speak to you.

Dating gospels

The Gospels: by The God who wants to be…

August 16, 2018August 28, 2018
by peterdsnow

The Gospels Belong to You:

Who owns the gospels? What a strange question. They are just there, there is no copyright and nobody can tell you what you can and cannot do with them. Various translators do have control over their work, but most translations are in the public domain. The churches don’t own the gospel , though every church has its own doctrinal structure dependent on the gospels.

The gospels are meant for you. Many people down the ages have died protecting them, and asserting the right of access to everyone. Now what will you do with them?

The gospels value to you is going to depend on a number of things.

The gospels are not an empty box in which you can keep your pet ideas and take them out to massage them when you want to. If you are under 85, don’t assume you know what the gospels have to say to you. If you are over 85, then being surprised by the gospels is one thing you can expect.
The gospels were written 2,000 years ago and the authors were writing for a few people they knew, and who knew them. They did not realize you would be reading their very personal efforts to record what they had seen or heard. So give them a break. They didn’t get it all right all the time, but they were not trying to deceive you
2,000 years ago there were no copiers or cloud storage. When you wanted a copy of a gospel someone had to sit down for a number of days and copy it out by hand. After two or three days you then had two copies. There was no point to circulating lies or untruths. What people wrote was deemed by them worth the considerable effort and cost to set it down on very expensive parchment.
When you pick up your gospel to read, imagine it a totally unknown entity. You are looking at it for the first time again. Even after all these years of studying these four documents I am constantly surprised b y another insight, and often the realization I was mistaken previously. This willingness to be surprised is vital for you if you want to find the true value of what is there before you. You are never done.
The teaching in the gospels is simple and straightforward. Jesus never played mind games nor messed with people’s heads. He had a lot of trouble with the clergy of his day, but that’s another story. What Jesus of Nazareth had to say was understandable to the fishermen and farm laborers of Galilee. It’s not difficult but neither is it obvious.
The real problem arose when others felt a need to explain his teaching to those who had not listened to him personally. Early teachers couldn’t help but spin the meaning of a parable or statement to fit their particular issue at hand. Reading their interpretation as words from Jesus’ mouth makes figuring out just what he said extremely difficult. This takes study and commonsense. The disciples’ spin is itself very instructive, and by no means a distraction once you understand the difference between what Jesus said and others’ assumptions or needs.
What translation should you use? Modern translations are the work of good Greek scholars, historians and theologians. Even so, new insights will dictate changes in future translations. For example the Dead Sea Scrolls are still revealing background information on contemporary practices and beliefs. These nuggets of knowledge will change our understanding a little here or there and affect the next translations published.

Value your gospels, keep them close and leave space in your head for future understanding. You are not done yet.

Books

The Gospel Also Belongs to Those Outside The Church

August 15, 2018August 23, 2018
by peterdsnow

Most of the people not in the church don’t believe a word of what the church has to say. This erosion of the church’s viability has been going on at an ever accelerating rate since World War 2. Now in this era of technological expansion and interconnectedness there appears less space for the church in people’s minds or lives. That may not apply to Jesus of Nazareth’s message. Maybe his teaching is just what we need, after all the church teaches this is all His world.

Most doctrine offered by the church is suspect. Formed by Neo-Platonist thinking, medieval superstition and the churches’ need to project power, control and hold a monopoly of the truth, the church, including every denomination speaks to a smaller percentage of the population every decade. However, its power and political control tempts churches into unholy alliances which further corrupt the so called people of God. An Example of this is the number of Christians who support a lying, philandering, manipulative, fraudulent human being as President because he promises them he will support an attack on Women’s rights to control their own bodies. These same Christians will turn a blind eye to the needs of the country to gain an advantage for their ideology.

The church has for the last 2,000 years turned out some extraordinary people. Members of the church, (of any denomination) have built schools, hospitals, universities and so much more. The History of the church is full of great people and great works. Maybe in this century, the church will be called upon to once more do great things, but is it ready to face the issues?

Now in this 21^st Century the human race is up against its own end times. The population has topped 7 billion, climate is changing world wide, masses of people are on the move seeking relief from disastrous environments of one kind or another, our population is more susceptible to new diseases, and from our study of evolutionary history we know we are at a tipping point. Life on this planet could blink out. That would not be the end of creation, for other worlds, other planets and other species will go on. None of us will be there. We cannot get there to those distant worlds, despite the sci-fi genre’s assertion such a thing was possible. At best no more than a dozen or so could escape the gravity of our world and risk their future in the emptiness of space. The rest of us have to make this planet work for everyone. There is no alternative. We all have a massive job to do.

The teaching of Jesus of Nazareth could be our salvation, not in the church’s meaning of the word, but by re-thinking how we belong, and how each of us as individuals have a destiny, a purpose of becoming. The Red Sock Ministry wants to grasp the essential truth of Jesus of Nazareth’s teaching, and make it the property of those outside the church. It may be our collective best bet. One thing I do know is if you study Jesus’ teaching as found in the gospels it will change you. You will have found a window into the heart of the divine whether you are inside the church or outside.

Church

Red Sock Reflections

August 13, 2018August 28, 2018
by peterdsnow

I am often asked why I wear red socks on Sunday. I have to admit I don’t really know. Maybe it really began with my Dad. He prayed every night beside his bed, was a man of moral integrity, generous but wouldn’t think of entering a church on principle. On learning I intended to be ordained he banged on the dining table, made all the pots dance, and shouted, “Why the hell should a son of mine want to go into the bloody church?” (Maybe the whole thing was a kind of divine joke.)

The idea of red socks starts there. In a way he was right. The churches of all denominations are very much human organizations and with any success become corrupted by power and money. How much ego is on display on any Sunday in any number of worshipping congregations? Hypocrisy hovers over the church always, as standards of perfection preached can never meet the reality of our human condition. The only thing we can say is that hypocrisy in the church is not as brazen as in political entities and other centers of power and money.

So every Sunday I turn up at church but wear red socks as a subversive reminder. This is not me being arrogant, although that is always a possibility, but me expressing my own guilt, my struggle with the Christian message in contrast with my own capacity to be much different.

Here is the problem: The church, any church, pick one, always suggests you should be different and would be if you bought their package. In my years as a priest, I saw nobody change and become that ideal the church pushes. Lots of people got a better handle on life, grew up and found freedom, but I’m glad to say they could only grow by totally ignoring the idea, “People should be different.”

That idea is not only found in the preaching but buried in our doctrine. We are supposed to preach that everyone is born in sin. We all start off corrupted, and only by the grace of God are we saved from the great barbecue at the end of time. Baloney! Then we turn around in the pulpit and explain how much God, the loving father, wants for us to be perfect. Double baloney! When my children were born, there was nothing wrong with them, in fact, their innocence took my breath away, and I felt for a moment I shared with God the joy he finds in each of us. What now? They have grown up in our imperfect world of people with all the imperfections of our society. All I can say of them is they are better people than I am, with no thanks for my screw-ups.

So here is the dilemma. On the one hand is the organized church with its flawed doctrine, but on the other hand, I can attest to the wonders at the heart of life. Red Socks is somehow a kind of expletive in color. It’s saying, “I don’t buy what you are selling but I want to join with all the other people who constitute the Church, the spiritual community in which even my Dad would have felt at home.”

Maybe that gets me a little closer.