Parables are short tales that Jesus told as part of his teaching ministry. Their purpose was not just to tell a moral, but rather to invite the listener to enter the kingdom of God. The Catechism tells us: “The parables are like mirrors for man: will he be hard soil or good earth for the word? What use has he made of the talents he has received? Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to ‘know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven’.” (para. 546)
The parables could be about prayer, or about the kingdom of God, or about how we should act toward one another, or about who Jesus is to us. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote that parables bridge new information with familiar information. Thus, a parable does double duty; it calls new ideas to listeners to reflect upon them, and it also calls them into entering a journey to go beyond their present knowledge to new knowledge.
The parables caused the Pharisees and Sadducees discomfort because they challenged their way of life and thinking. Even the apostles had problems understanding the parables, and to them Jesus explained some of their meanings. Some of the parables used imagery that the people could readily understand so they could understand Jesus’ teaching about the God’s kingdom. Read the parables in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Know your faith. Live your faith. Teach your faith.
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