Challenging Parables and Animal Blessing
Last week we heard the story of 10 virgins/bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom. Some were street-wise and had spare oil. They were ready to wait. Some were not ready and missed out on the party. There is more to waiting than sitting around. Then Jesus tells the well-known parable of the talents. We all know that it is about being a good and faithful servant to God by using our natural abilities in the service of the Kingdom. We see the “Lord” as a kind of Jesus figure – not a very nice Jesus figure though. And to be honest most of us are not so keen on the ending with all that outer darkness and the wailing and gnashing of teeth. But we just get on with it. Like most of the stories in the Bible it helps if you put the story back: back into its place in Matthew’s gospel, and back into the world it came out of. When we do that, we find some other ways of understanding what Jesus was talking about. Some ask where this story fits with the beatitudes and the sermon on the mount. At t...