By Michael D. Gose
Why is it that virtually all of our preaching is expository while the examples of Jesus are parabolic? Certainly the Apostle Paul fashioned a worthy tradition of powerful, straightforward sermons. But why has the tradition of the parabolic preaching of Jesus been so neglected in the pulpit?
What is parabolic preaching? Jesus' parables are the key to understanding this genre of preaching.
It is not easy to define parables, much less explain what "worldly stories with heavenly meanings" means. I have identified twenty characteristics that I have found most of Jesus' parables have:
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1) vivid, colorful illustrations, which range from analogy to literature
2) specific concrete images
3) common, everyday examples
4) new or unusual ways of looking at a common issue
5) pithy, glib language
6) metaphors, analogies, similies, stories even children can understand
7) an economy of style with a minimum of embellishment
8) or take advantage of the experiences the audience brings to the subject
9) multiple levels of meaning
10) effective pacing in the telling of the example or story
11) an example from natural life to get at "truth"
12) irony to drive a message home
13) timeliness in responding to a critical need the audience may not yet even be aware it has, or conflict within those in the audience that needs resolution
14) spontaneous adjustments, protractions, alterations in the telling to respond to circumstances and the audience's reactions to the parable
15) the emotional response of the audience to make its point
16) the image or story line to convey a message implicit to the story without requiring an explicit statement of message
17) the responsibility of the audience to interpret correctly
18) meaningful content, although the content is never as important as the implicit underlying intent and meaning
19) a heuristic, educational frame which signals something more than a simple story is involved
20) the unexpected which "knocks the (audience) flat" with the impact of the message
If one reviews the Parable of the Good Samaritan or the Parable of the Prodigal Son, virtually each of these characteristics are met. A good piece of fiction with a definite theme might also meet most of these characteristics, but differs from a parable in that it need not have an explicit spiritual intent.
We do have a few contemporary examples of parabolic teaching, if not preaching per se. The popular television show, the Twilight Zone, was often parabolic. Rod Serling usually began and ended his show with commentaries that hinted the show's story was in effect a sophisticated morality play. On one show Agnes Moorhead portrayed a poor woman in a rural setting besieged by invaders from another planet. The story was vivid, concrete, common, artful. The audience identified with Moorhead's plight. At the end, after she had triumphed, the audience discovered the "aliens" were actually men from the Planet Earth. This sudden turn of events had parabolic impact. The parable was a new and unusual way of looking at a common issue--fear of the unknown and our lack of empathy for those who seem "alien." The program evidenced virtually all the characteristics of parables. Serling's language was glib, his point of view ironic. The program had an economy of style--it lasted only 22 minutes. The original program date was in the era of our early space ex- ploration, and thus timely to our unexplored attitudes about becoming invaders when previously we had only feared the prospect of our being invaded as in the Orson Welles War of the Worlds phenomena. The story certainly evoked different levels of interpretation. The point of view was ironic---ironic in our natural disposition to identify with the actual character who turned out to be the "alien." Many propositional statements about the program's themes could be advanced and defended, but in effect the meaning adheres to the story line. Serling's introduction and conclusion warns there is more here than meets the eye. The unexpected outcome knocked the audience flat. A message was not drummed home so much as the audience was left with the responsibility for de- termining what the message really was. Understanding required further thought, and, importantly, from a variety of perspectives. This is the stuff of parabolic teaching.
