As I have often mentioned, I think Jesus’ parables are like finely cut gem stones; as you tumble them around you see there are many facets to them…and you see that they are not always exactly what they first appeared to be. The story often has twists and turns and by the time you discover what is really going on, it’s too late to refuse the invitation to the new reality being presented through the telling of the parable.
Jesus’ parables draw comparisons between what we know and what we don’t know…conventional understanding up against gospel insight. First we say… oh yeah…I know this…and then a sharp corner is turned, and we swallow hard, and we see something new…not quite what we were expecting.
In today’s parable the Pharisee is supposed to be the righteous one and the tax collector is supposed to be the bad guy…but things are not always as we think they are supposed to be. The message of this parable is that we need to be careful about judging others… the fact is that we don’t know what is in someone else’s heart…only God knows.
In the Gospels Jesus gives us a different set of rules for judging things to be acceptable or unacceptable …it is a different set of lenses through which we are called to view the world.
These Gospel lenses “see” the poor, the immigrant and the marginalized as the beloved of God rather than “a drain on the system” or “foreigners” whom we should fear and send “back home,” or worse…to a country they did not come from, with no family, or support system, only guaranteed suffering !
Looking at the world through “Gospel lenses” reveals a whole new way of seeing “the other” and seeing the world around us. What do “Gospel lenses” let me see about our current social and political debate on issues of systemic racism, DEI, immigration, refugees, and on issues of gender and misogyny and economic inequality, poverty and ecology.
In what light do my “Gospel lenses” let me see my sister and brother Muslims, Jews, and people of other faiths and political beliefs?
What challenges are presented to me by looking at the burning issues of our chaotic nation through “Gospel lenses”? And how deeply does that “Gospel view” impact my response to those issues? What words and actions does this “Gospel view” call me to in today’s world?
Fr. Tim
Jesus’ parables draw comparisons between what we know and what we don’t know…conventional understanding up against gospel insight. First we say… oh yeah…I know this…and then a sharp corner is turned, and we swallow hard, and we see something new…not quite what we were expecting.
In today’s parable the Pharisee is supposed to be the righteous one and the tax collector is supposed to be the bad guy…but things are not always as we think they are supposed to be. The message of this parable is that we need to be careful about judging others… the fact is that we don’t know what is in someone else’s heart…only God knows.
In the Gospels Jesus gives us a different set of rules for judging things to be acceptable or unacceptable …it is a different set of lenses through which we are called to view the world.
These Gospel lenses “see” the poor, the immigrant and the marginalized as the beloved of God rather than “a drain on the system” or “foreigners” whom we should fear and send “back home,” or worse…to a country they did not come from, with no family, or support system, only guaranteed suffering !
Looking at the world through “Gospel lenses” reveals a whole new way of seeing “the other” and seeing the world around us. What do “Gospel lenses” let me see about our current social and political debate on issues of systemic racism, DEI, immigration, refugees, and on issues of gender and misogyny and economic inequality, poverty and ecology.
In what light do my “Gospel lenses” let me see my sister and brother Muslims, Jews, and people of other faiths and political beliefs?
What challenges are presented to me by looking at the burning issues of our chaotic nation through “Gospel lenses”? And how deeply does that “Gospel view” impact my response to those issues? What words and actions does this “Gospel view” call me to in today’s world?
Fr. Tim
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