Word to the Wise
Thursday, July 27, 2023 - Thursday in the 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b and Matt 13:10-17]The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the KIngdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted......But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." [Matthew]
One of the distinctive features of Jesus' preaching was the use of parables, simple images from everyday life that could convey important truths about his identity and mission. The method was not new in his day, but the content was. Jesus' comment about why he used parables comes in the middle of the parable of the sower and the seed. The seed could fall in different places with corresponding different results - some more open for growth and others not. The disciples (and the missionaries of Matthew's time and, indeed, in our own time) were wondering why some folks would "get it" and others would not. The parables could bring great and seemingly mysterious truths down to the simplest level. The hearer would be confronted with the choice to believe the truth or turn away from it.
Dry and didactic preaching, no matter how sublime the truth, is not going to awaken faith in the listener. Reading passages from the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH is a sure way to put a listener to sleep. Good images, metaphors, analogies, stories, etc. can be the most effective way to communicate the message of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. The parables contain images from everyday life which, in turn, enable a listener to see the Kingdom of God at work in our own everyday life. Retreatants, sometimes years after a retreat, will tell me that what they remember are the stories I told. The stories (parables, etc) of Jesus are still being remembered. We can follow his example in our own witness to faith. AMEN