The Purpose of Parables

Today's Reflections 

 

The Purpose of Parables

Mt 13:10-17

¹⁰The disciples approached [Jesus] and said, “Why do you speak to [the crowd] in parables?” ¹¹He 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. ¹²To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ¹³This is why I speak to them in parables, because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’ ¹⁴Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:/ ‘You shall indeed hear but not understand,/ you shall indeed look but never see./ ¹⁵Gross is the heart of this people,/ they will hardly hear with their ears,/ they have closed their eyes,/ lest they see with their eyes/ and hear with their ears/ and understand with their heart and be converted/ and I heal them.’

¹⁶“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷Amen, 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.”

I SPEAK TO THEM IN PARABLES. From the Greek word meaning “to throw by the side of,” parables are stories, figures of speech, metaphors, and riddles presented to make people question, challenge, or deepen their ideas about people and events and about God’s workings in the world.

The parables of Jesus are simple stories that ordinary folks—fishermen, farmers, laborers, housewives—can easily understand. Despite their simplicity, however, parables can also become “riddles” to people who are not open to God and to Jesus’ teachings. They may “hear but not understand” and “look but never see.”

Jesus’ parables are perennially relevant. Their meanings are not exhausted even after a thorough study on the part of Bible exegetes and commentators. As we reflect on the stories “thrown by our side,” we are challenged in our own life situation and in our relationship with God.

What are the events and who are the persons

“thrown by your side” today?

Do they make you reflect

on your relationship with God?