My kids, returning from one of many VBS experiences that my wife has lined up for the summer, gave me a simple definition of the word "parable" the other day: a parable is a story with a hidden meaning. (My kids also carried home words like "propitiation" and "expiation" with similar, straightforward definitions...but ones that caused me to do a little research so that I didn't fall too far behind their newfound and growing theological acumen. Seriously, do YOU know the definition of "expiation!?")
So my kids are talking about parables and I'm at breakfast the next day with my buddies and we're digging into each other's struggles and hopes, etc. And I have this rare moment where I inadverdantly find myself using a parable to make a point instead of making a direct observation. I don't mean, by the way, that I pulled open my Bible and referenced a parable told by Christ to His followers...I mean I had one of those opportunities to use a story about someone else to illuminate an issue faced by my friend.
This story that I told was only loosely on target (I won't retell it here; it's not important) and I actually questioned how much it mattered or resonated at the time. In fact, as sometimes happens when telling a story, it seemed to be less on target the further along I got in the telling. Regardless, I didn't give it much additional thought. I connected the dots as best I could and then moved on. Only later did I get some feedback from my friend, via email, that made me think that this story had mattered in the least (and I'm still not sure how much it mattered; again, not important).
Flash forward to last night. I'm watching Gran Torino on loaner from someone who recommended it as one of those movies I "had to see." It really was a must see, by the way - I highly suggest you rent or buy it. In the midst of this watching I found myself doing what I often do while viewing or reading something proffered to me by someone: I wondered "why is this important to them...what does it reveal about my friend." And, quite suddenly, I finally realized why parables are so important...why this method of telling stories "with a hidden meaning" mattered so much to Christ.
Parables require our active participation.
When someone asks for advice and I give it - when someone has a question and I answer it, they have my answer and they do with it what they will. When someone asks a question and I tell them a story by way of giving an answer, it forces that person to actively search within the story I'm telling in order to understand why I think it is relevant to them. They must participate and digest the story with an eye for "where is the answer to my question in this" that is deeper and truer than any answer I or anyone else could give. Because it is internal.
Of course Christ told parables - they aren't elusive, they are personal and revealing to each of us as we seek to find ourselves within them.
How is this important to my conversation and storytelling the other day...and to my viewing of Gran Torino!? Well, let me try to connect the dots...
1) I realized how vital it was to me (and to other followers of Christ) that He used parables to impact my life - because each is an invitation.
2) I realized the compelling impact it can have on others when I'm willing to risk sharing a story that casts light on their situation, without taking the entire burden of interpreting that story on their behalf.
3) I realized that sharing a story also reveals my heart better to someone than sharing an answer.
You see, just like I watch a movie that someone gives me wondering "why is this important to so-and-so," I believe that we search within the parables we're told seeking for their relevance to us as well as their revealing of the teller's hopes for us. When I watch Gran Torino in this context I am both asking "why does this matter to him" and "how am I revealed in this" AND "what does he hope I find in this - what does my friend hope to see revealed." All different aspects of similar questions. All requiring me to participate.
So while parables may have a "hidden meaning," by definition, the meaning and purpose of Christ using parables is in no way hidden. His parables are an invitation to join Him in the journey. They are snapshots of the things He loves and holds most dear - and He makes them available to us with expectant hope that we'll participate and discover His hopes for us within. His heart is good.
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