Parables, the Good Samaritan in particular

After Ken Bailey’s visit to G.R. a few weeks ago in conjunction with the Calvin Symposium on Worship and the unveiling of the Prodigal Son art collection recently given to Calvin, I’ve been reading his most recent book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes. One of the chapters is the source of the sermon he preached at COS on the blind man and Zacchaeus. During a lecture on Islam later that evening he said that he does “hermeneutical Christology,” an additional approach to understanding the deity of Christ to the more typical exploration of his names and his function. Parables give us great insight into how Jesus takes symbols out of the Old Testament that apply to God and then applies them to himself.

Here’s his definition of parable: “A metaphor…is not an illustration of an idea; it is a mode of theological discourse. The metaphor does more than explain meaning, it creates meaning. A parable is an extended metaphor and as such it is not a delivery system for an idea but a house in which the reader/listener is invited to take up residence” (280). How profound is this? “… a house in which the reader/listener is invited to take up residence.” Bailey is, of course, most famous for his life-long work of living in the Prodigal Son parable.

Tomorrow at ESL, I am going to have my (intermediate) students read the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I have been doing some history or literature every day, and last week one of them asked why so many people volunteer to teach these classes. I thought that this parable might extend our discussion in a way that God might use in their lives (and my own).

P.S. afterwards: Most of them struggled with this. The parable was not intuitive to them. Maybe they are just more honest about this difficulty than the rest of us?! Nevertheless, one of them asked if Jesus hadn’t said “to love their enemies,” whereupon the Iraqi fellow (one of my favorite students! How hard he and his family are working to adjust to this new place and even manage a sense of humor) mimed “turning the other cheek,” but in Islam, he said, acting it out, “hit on the (first) cheek….POW!” We’ll see how they respond when I share the crucifixion/resurrection story in a few weeks.

January 09 reading list

Books read in January 2009

1. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Partially reviewed in the post below and an article brewing comparing her treatment by her family with the Prodigal Son’s.

2. The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. Keller’s exposition of Luke 15 focuses on the needs of the church to reflect the image of God even though many have elder brother tendencies.

3. Bel Canto by Ann Pattchet. Recommended by Mindy, Linda and Jenny, this is a beautiful novel with music shot throughout. I want to read more by her (Jenny’s bookclub just read one of her most recent.)

4. Sealed with an Oath: Covenant in God’s Unfolding Purpose by Paul R. Williamson. I saw this on one of the groaning booktables at the IV grad/fac conference and, knowing the passion of some of my family for covenant theology, thought it would be a good book to read. He defines covenant as: “’a solemn commitment, guaranteeing promises or obligations undertaken by one or both parties, sealed with an oath.’ The primary function of this ancient theological motif, first introduced in the context of the flood, is understood as follows: to advance God’s creative purpose of universal blessing’ (11).

5. Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness by Stanley Hauerwas and Jean Vanier. Ellen gave me this one for Christmas. I have read Hauerwas articles on disability a couple of decades ago, and I really appreciated his current thinking on what the disabled community has to offer the rest of us, i.e., what it means to be the church. Anyone who works with this population should read this book for the encouragement it offers. I am bringing it for Karen’s group home staff when we bring her back there tomorrow.

6. The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri Nouwen. I saw this on Ellen’s bookshelf as I helped her pack up her belongings for her move across town. Knowing that Calvin’s current art exhibit was a collection of painting of the Prodigal Son (given by a local doctor who had many of the contemporary ones commissioned) in conjunction with the Worship Symposium, I asked if I could borrow it. Fascinating and profound. Nouwen lived in one of the L’Arche communities started by Vanier (of the previous book). This book is about the effect that Rembrandt’s famous painting made on Nouwen’s understanding of himself as one of God’s beloved sons. Kenneth Bailey, whose work on the P.S. is so deep, thinks that Rembrandt “got it wrong” because he failed to show that the Father was the Iniatitor and that the son’s repentance was in reality “being willing to be found.”

February’s list will not be nearly as long, alas.