Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology

The parables of Jesus are an ethically appropriate genre for his claims about the kingdom of God. But our fascination with gospel parables by Jesus may be extended to gospel parables about Jesus. Especially in parables about Jesus, questions of historical accuracy may lead one to avoid questions about parabolic challenge.

God's parabolic word always comes in cultural garb. Although employing the rhetoric and values of the imperial hegemony, the parables—and Matthew's gospel in general—render a trenchant critique.

The parable of the Sower is problematic not because of its obscurity but precisely because of its utter clarity. The uneasiness the parable provokes will be settled only by a word from God, encountered in a community in which the gospel is preached and the sacraments celebrated.

The three Lukan parables that feature female characters have often been interpreted as stories about women tending to trivial tasks. Yet these figures reveal the divine work of transforming and feeding, extravagantly seeking after the lost for redemption, and persistently pursuing justice until it is achieved.

These parables balance three seemingly incompatible domains: creative collaboration within the limits of nature; catastrophic disaster tinged with the barest hint of human responsibility; and courageous, transforming coercion, the success of which renders an entire process vulnerable.