Drawing Close with Parables
There is a scripture verse I love in the book of James chapter four that says:
8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Have you ever read a parable and wondered what was meant by it? Or maybe you have an idea of the point being made, but somehow it feels a bit separated from the daily reality you live in? And maybe you research different terms in the story to figure out what exactly is being said but it still sits in that category of story without having a direct connection to your personal experience. It hits as wise and educational and impacts you peripherally or conceptually but doesn’t quite hit the core of who you are or shift your daily perspective.
Take for instance a short parable found in chapter 18 of Luke. In verses ten through fourteen we are told:
10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
I have a confession to make about this parable. Prior to this evening the overall lesson I pulled from this parable is, “Don’t think you are so great and someone else is unworthy. Be humble.” Now, in my opinion that is a valuable lesson to take from this story…assuming it doesn’t come with a dose of internal sniggering at guy number one who thought he was all that and wasn’t. I did say this was a moment of confession so to be honest I have to shamefully add that I have previously held a moment of satisfaction at the first man being put in his place which ironically proves how often I am that primary character in the story.
Prior to this moment I have only held space for this parable in a highly conceptual part of my mind. The analytical part that studied out and discovered that Pharisee’s were holy leaders in their time and publicans were tax collectors who were culturally viewed as social pariahs. It was a good parable that held an important warning and message but didn’t touch the edges of my real-world experience. It was a message in a story from a different time, holding persistent truths but partially veiled from the deepest parts of my understanding.
Tonight though, while sitting in a church study group, I had an opportunity to write out this parable in my own words. Contemplating and praying on what the core message was and how to best relate it I imagined a scene more familiar to my own personal experience. A scene that opened on a bright Sunday morning. It goes like this:
Two men walked into church on a Sunday morning. The first man had been a member there all his life. His Sunday suit was freshly pressed, and every hair was in perfect order. He walked in greeting those he passed and took his usual place near the front. The second man had been to Sunday School a few times as a child but became involved in drugs and had walked a dark road for many years. For the first time in as long as he could remember he stepped through those doors again, longing for something he remembered from his youth. His arms and neck were covered in tattoos and his teeth were yellowed with stains when he would briefly smile.
The first man took his turn to pray, thanking God that, unlike others around him, he had always done right. He had not wasted his money on drugs or alcohol but regularly attended and tithed to the church as one should do. Having said his peace, he took his seat again head held high and confident.
The second man sat quietly at the back of the room. Eyes averted from the gaze of others he bowed his head in shame and prayed, “Please forgive me God and help me! I am so weak and fail so often. I need your help.”
This second man left the service justified more than the first, because every man who lifts himself up will be brought low and every man who humbles himself will be lifted up through Christ.
As I read over my modernized version of this parable the story itself seemed to shift and expand in my consciousness. It moved from the realm of scholarly study into the core of my personal experience impacting me in a way it never has before tonight. You see, I have been both characters at different points in my life. I’ve been the self-righteous perfectly put together but totally oblivious person confusing the following of rules with righteousness and judging the heart of another who doesn’t fit what I believe godliness to look like. I’ve also been the broken soul knowing I don’t deserve to cross the threshold into God’s presence but knowing it holds everything I need to be whole. And let’s be honest, if I have been both characters and I hope for grace to be extended to me…shouldn’t I be equally willing to extend that same grace to another soul whether they be in the position of that first character or the second?
I think this is why I love parables so much. They grow and expand with us as we grow to know Christ’s presence more completely. When we study them and meditate on the truths found in them, they come alive and take root in our hearts expanding our understanding of who He is and who we are in Him. So here is my prayer for each of us, that we may take more time to soak in the word and allow the truth of Christ’s gospel to grow beyond the scholarly realm reaching into the very heart of each of us and that we may practice more grace with one another as we grow together in the knowledge of our savior.