Saturday, June 27, 2009

Word of the Lord and Parables

Difference between the “Word of the Lord” and “Parables.

It is my strong belief that the true message of Jesus Christ is often truncated by lack of enlightenment on the difference between the “Word of the Lord” and the literal content of “Parables”

Distinguishing the word of the Lord from the literal content of parables is very important because parables in their literal substance may appears in many ways to be contrary to the fundamental principles of God’s word, the beatitudes or God’s commandments, not excluding today’s laws and morals.

Emphasis on the difference between the word of the Lord and parables also permits us to distinguish clearly and to achieve a perfect conciliation between matters of daily life and our belief in the “Word”, in particular our dedication to the enrichment of God’s Heavenly kingdom.

A comprehensive approach between the “Word” and comparison parables also eliminates the risk of one being a distraction in regards to the other.

THE WORD OF THE LORD COMPARED TO PARABLES IN GENERAL

God is eternal and self-existent (do not depend on any condition to exist), so is his word, perpetual, complete and unchanging. God’s word is absolute. On the contrary a parable is always relative.

(As example: “Man” is an absolute term on the contrary "father” is a relative term)

While we can trust on the absolute truth of the word of the Lord, on the contrary the content of parables is always relative, in other words variable, it’s meaning depends on what it is connected to and it’s content can be invalidated by changes of context or time.

In 2 Samuel 22:31, it is written: “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless.”

In Proverbs 30:5-6: “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuse in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”

Jesus, all along his mission, teaching and preaching, will often illustrate his lessons, mainly on the proceedings of the Holy Spirit, by using in parallel many practical and captivating stories, familiar to the realities of life in those days, and called parables.

Jesus used parables as a method of teaching he knew would have a more incentive and captivating effect on the intellect of the crowds, so that they may assimilate his teaching by making the comparison. But he did not assume or shoulder the literal content of theses parables; His interest was exclusively a question of comparison in form and not in the nature of the content.

As we focus on ‘comparison parables’ used by Jesus, let us not mistake this category with other parables, metaphors or figurative writing (symbolic words), riddles, proverbs, used in the prophesies of Scriptures mainly in the Old Testament or by other prophets and Jesus himself in the New Testament which interpretation may be straightforward.

The use here may not be a method of teaching but rather attributed to the rhetoric art of wise men of those days and the interpretation is rather a matter of wisdom. Contrary to comparison parables, the link to the word of the Lord here is directly substantial. The truth is in the interpretation of the content.

WHY DID JESUS RECOURSE TO COMPARISON PARABLES? (In Matthew 13:10-13)

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?

He replied, the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

Whoever has will be given more, and he will have in abundance.
Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
This is why I speak to them in parables.

Jesus as a means of efficiency in teaching to crowds not yet converted to the knowledge of the Holy Spirit, will often establish a parallel between his lesson that is essentially spiritual and practical facts relating to life in those days, likely to captivate attention, called “teaching in parables”.

Therefore in our interpretation of this category of parables, only the form or proceedings, not the substance of the content, must be taken in the process of understanding the secrets of the kingdom of heaven or the Holy Spirit.

We must be aware against mistaken the message of Jesus with the literal content of parables.

A parable is relative, the meaning or sense is variable, changeable dependent on the context, the timing or the relation considered.

The literary of parables is not reflective of the authenticity of the word of the Lord. Jesus interest in parables is strictly pedagogical. Parable is simply the vehicle used to carry to the minds of the people, the proceedings of the kingdom of heaven, the returning of the Son of Man and judgment at the end of age.

Not making the difference will be taken Jesus parables out of his desired context
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Let us take as example the “PARABLE OF THE TALENTS” (Matt. 25:14-30)

PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

The Kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a journey and entrusted his property to his three servants proportionally to their ability:

When the master returned, two of the servants had profitably invested the capital entrusted to them by obtaining the double of the capital: One ten talents and the other four talents.

For this reason they were complimented by their master in terms of “ Well done, good and faithful servants, you have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness”

But the third servant instead of seeking a profitable investment for his portion of capital, decided to hide it in the ground until his master returns, because he see his master gains as a curse and was afraid of it.

He said to his master: “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. See, here is what belongs to you”

His master replied: “ You wicked, lazy servant, so you knew that I harvest where I have not scattered seeds? Well then, you should have put my money on the deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.”

The master took the talent from him and gave it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have in abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

And he throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


INTERPRETATION:

The time when the master returned to settle accounts with his entrusted servants is compared to the “End of Age”, when Jesus, the Son of Man will return with his angels and separates the wicked from the righteous.

In the spirit of the parable, the servant with the one talent is not fundamentally a Son of the evil but should rather be compared to a professed righteous man or to a Christian, unconsciously living in denial of their true assignment as appointed Sons for the kingdom of heaven.

The servant that received only one talent can also be compared in an other parable, to the “Seed that fell among thorns” (Parable of the sower)

In Matt. 13: 22 we read: “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”

It can be very much misleading if interpretation of the “parable of the talent” should give the sense that Jesus is in full harmony with the substantial content of this parable or to confound the judgment of the servant’s master with the judgment of the Son of Man on his return, otherwise than in simple form.

It is essential emphasize on the difference or boundaries between the real nature and spirit of Jesus teaching and the character he may be acting many parables.

The parallel established in the parable by Jesus between the word of the Lord and the slaves’ master narrative is solely comparative in relative form, not in spirit and substance. As parallel lines, never meet one with the other even extended into infinity, so is God’s “Word” compared to the literal content of parables.

Rather, we ought to see Jesus, in a pedagogic perspective, acting comparatively in the role of the Slaves’ master as to illustrate his true message. The Word of the Lord is the absolute truth. On the contrary, the narrative of the Householder is but relative.

Jesus lesson is basically pointing at how unfruitful in relation to the Kingdom of Heaven, one can be even in the evidence of their righteous attitude. Jesus is saying: On his return, Sons of the kingdom of heaven will not be accepted simply by their righteous attitude but most of all by their fruitful works in the accomplishment of his commandments.

This parable is fundamentally a warning against yielding to distractions even as honorable or righteous as they may seems in our judgment. We ought to make the difference between the spirit of God’s living Word through Jesus Christ and giving way to our personal philosophy and feelings.


MISLEADS:

Not making the difference between God’s “word” as thought by Jesus and his acting roles in this specific parable of the talent, leads naturally to many questions:

Was Jesus an advocate of the concept of slavery by which slaves were assimilated in their persons to manufacturing machinery, having no rights to question the orders and tyranny of their master?
Is it wicked for a subordinate to disapprove unrighteousness perpetrated by their boss?
In what sense can God’s “word” be compared with the injustice or inequality in the distribution of the talents amongst the three servants (5, 2 and 1)?
Can a true Christian see Jesus Christ on the same latitude or using the same judgment scale as a slaves’ master?
Should this parable be referred to as a condemnation of people of great talent yet not holding a predominant role in society
Is this parable means God’s condemnation of the slave and his unconditional absolution for the deceived householders?

Being productive in society life is not always compatible with being productive in God’s kingdom. It was so in the days of John the Baptist and it remains a true fact in today’s society.

Concerning the inequality in the distribution of the talents, relatively, from the standpoint of a householder, knowing that the abilities of one slave was greater than the other, it would have been of very poor management to entrust all servants with the same sum of talents.

As a matter of fact, as in economy politics, the principle of equality is not grounded on equal distribution of goods, riches, values or benefits to all but rather on giving to each man his rightful due. God’s grace follows the same rule.

So Jesus wanted to emphasize here that some of us have greater abilities than others and by his grace, one may be entrusted with more knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God than the other, therefore are potentially in charge of gathering a more abundant harvest not only to our own purpose but more supremely to the enrichment of his kingdom on earth.

At the end we will all be equally judged by the spiritual content of our heart and our performance.

Because the Parable is silent in regards of the ethical origin of the master’s property, the nature of his business or the quality of the investment made by the two successful, one may be mislead in given priority to productivity over the moral and Christian values that may be at stake.

It is clear that the servants master was an unrighteous man and unless he had repented, he will also when Jesus returns, fall amongst the wicked and thrown into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Likewise the servant, by letting personal feelings and unproductive criticism lead us to retracting from our appointed duty, we may loss sight of God’s desires and fall short of his glory, even as proclaimed Christians living by morals and Christian values.

Our duty is to endure and to be productive as Son of the kingdom of God yet being very watchful not to fall into disguised evil.

The fact of not providing the ‘Word’ for others, even people in the likeness of this slave’s owner, Jesus is saying to us: In spite of living up to the moral rules of life, at the End of Age, we can be judged as sinful as this disobedient servant and inherited comparison fate, if we overlook his order to fructify the spiritual capital we received from the crucified and risen Jesus Christ.

Jesus is saying here: Being selfish and inefficient is to our condemnation in regards to the kingdom of Heaven.

The two servants judged good and faithful by their master may not be good and faithful in the sight of Jesus, because the master scale of justice can never be compared to Jesus’ scale of justice on judgment day.

THE MISLEADING AMALGAM WITH ONE’S TALENT

Jesus compared the parable in its form but he did not endorse any part of its literal content. His only interest was in the proceedings, not in its substance.

It is taking this parable totally out of context when one by making a slip of the tongue confounds talents in the parable, representing a unit of money with one’s talent in modern vocabulary representing a person’s ability.

And cleverly comes to the absolute conclusion, pretending on biblical grounds, that persons not exercising their talent within society life are to be judged wicked and lazy likewise the rebellious slave.

How can one pretend to ignore the endemic exclusion of great and righteous talents from society’s life where conceit and corruption are predominant?

Talented persons never bury their knowledge or abilities because these are not things that are inherited or freely granted but are obtained through hard work and sacrifices, all with a sustainable purpose in mind.

Unfortunately persons on the righteous side of life, tend to seek justice and clarity in all things, for this reason they are often confronted to a society where self-control is supplanted by illusions and projected glittering image, the few enjoying their established privileges will by all means ensure the permanence of their status

So let us not be one-sided in comparing Jesus parable of the talents with persons with talent but living on the fringe of society, for they may be confronted with insurmountable obstacles reducing them to be seen as wicked and lazy in the sight of the earthly masters, but great may be their status in the new kingdom of heaven..

Talent is the result of one achieving a perfect combination of self-control and knowledge and this can never be conceived in a wicked mind nor achieved in a lazy attitude and useless to say in a state of delusions of grandeur.

Jesus lesson here is that for us to be fruitful in our works as Sons of kingdom of heaven, we must not be distracted by the “Sons of Evil” for they will be judged by the Son of Man at the End of Age.

The attitude of the Sons of the kingdom of heaven is to endure and remain faithful and fruitful beyond personal or society’s concepts.

What the servant did when his master returned is what he should have done at the very beginning that is to preach righteousness and the secrets of the kingdom of heaven even to his hard master and by so doing fructify the kingdom of heaven by bringing more Sons to repentance.

WHAT JESUS EXPECTED FROM THE SERVANT WITH THE ONE TALENT?

To inherit the kingdom of heaven is not a question of bidden but rather of being individually prepared for a fair and equal judgment at the “End of Age”, each man within his individual ability and by his accomplishment in the enrichment of God’s kingdom during his lifetime.

To be fruitful is to be efficient and efficiency is always in equation with self-control, we can therefore assume that God’s work and Glory can only be completed through a process of self-control.

This does not mean that we must settle our range of action within fixed boundaries, on the contrary, self-control is source of motivation and incentive to our passion and efforts as we wish to progress in life.

Notwithstanding our intellectual, financial or social standard in life, every human being is invested with a role to play and a duty to be productive. For this reason, we ought to focus our thoughts on the supreme and divine “Word” of the Lord and embrace with love, self-respect and dignity whatsoever may be the task life may reserve for us. It is a question of choice between being real and being false.

By so doing we will be productive in the path God had designed for us and by our performance, gain worthy recognition and respect of others.

This is what is indicated to us in 2 Peter 1: 5-8

“Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness knowledge; and to knowledge self-control; and to self-control perseverance; and to perseverance godliness; and to godliness, brotherhood kindness and to brotherhood kindness love.

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Self-control is the key to efficiency, success and progress in our duty here on earth and subsequently to the door of our Father’s heavenly kingdom.

People that do not practice self-control are always in fear of loosing their rank. They see the new generations in quest for change as a threat therefore their tendency in regards to them is often to suppress, to muzzle, to close doors.

As a result, we find ourselves suffering the effects of a stilted human environment composed on one side of a few privileged, enjoying their established advantages over others and on the other side the mass, humiliated and frustrated, craving to exhale their talents and skills but also hungry to be recognized and to be welcomed into the fold.

PARABLE OF THE TALENT AND HUMAN CAUSE

Should we consider Jesus to be rendering justice by using the same scale as the slaves’ master then we will be in contradiction with our moral and Christian values, mainly in taking a stand against injustice and unrighteousness perpetrated by superiors.

We ought to consider the reproach and condemnation regarding the attitude of the servant with the one talent as relative and not as an absolute law of God. If not. Then we will be inconsistent in our belief in God’s beatitudes and Commandments.

As our today’s legislation claims slavery to be a crime against humanity,

As today we honor and pay tribute to the bravery and courage of all the martyrs to the cause of slavery and all other human rights activists who courageously, at the price of their blood and death, stand up to denounce unrighteousness and injustice.

As the freedom we enjoy today comes from the struggle and sacrifice of women and men who just like the servants with the one talent, at the price of self-sacrifice, had refuse to be an accomplices of an unrighteous system.

Evidence is that the reproach and condemnation of the householder cited by Jesus is only to be taking as comparative in form and not be confused with the judgment at the end of age.

The essence of the Parable of the talent is not in the servant’s disobedience to his master’s order but in his attitude regarding righteousness. Our sole belief in righteousness is not acceptable to God’s desires if it should stifle our ability to be creative, fruitful, to progress and subsequently to enrich God’s Kingdom.

Jesus’ lesson here is not about the attitude of a servant in regards to his master but rather about pointing out the attitude he expects from his appointed Sons invested with the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus is saying here to the Sons entrusted with the knowledge of the kingdom of God, that the power to judge is no more a privilege of man, but by the new covenant he was about to conclude, henceforth, will belong exclusively to Jesus, the Son of Man, who at the “End of Age” will judge all men not according to their belonging to a Nation or a Church but according to each individual heart and works.

The servant with the one talent allowed his belief and his master’s behaviors to distract him from carrying out his duty and therefore he was not fruitful and was condemned on his master’s return, so comparatively it will be at the “End of Age” when Jesus returns.

Remaining unproductive in the works of the Kingdom of heaven is not an option whatsoever worthy may be the reason. For on the day of supreme judgment the accuser and the accused likewise the servant and his master, will both be equally judged, not upon charges of their earthly confrontations but because of their worthiness or unworthiness in the affairs of God’s heavenly kingdom.

Even entrusted with the secrets of the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven, distraction and unfruitful attitude are to cost us at the “End of Age” the lost of our gift from Jesus Christ and as a result, to suffer the same condemnation as those we may be reproaching and comparing ourselves to.

Jesus is saying: To be redeemed and inherit the new kingdom of God, is to be fruitful in the works of God here on earth. Matters of the world that tends to influence our way of life even seemingly worthy may at the end of time be proven to be but deceitful illusions.

This parable is saying to us: that living up to moral principles and Christian belief simply to satisfy our pride, is not God’s desire for us.

We ought to use our knowledge in productive duties to fulfill God’s purpose and ensure the enrichment of God’s kingdom here on earth, mainly bringing sinners to repentance even to those of whom deeds we may disapprove.
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The fulfillment of God’s word and the bringing of sinners to repentance by our works and examples as Sons of the kingdom of heaven, should in all circumstances remain productive, and this is compatible with our belief in society values, because, Jesus aim can never be to alienate us from matters vital to our daily life on earth.

By the new covenant with Jesus, each of us is given an option for the kingdom of heaven with in return, an appointed duty to fulfill in preparation for when the “End of Age” comes.

As Jesus said in Luke 15: 7: “… There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent”