September 18, 2011

The kingdom of heaven is like…

This is the way Jesus introduces many of his parables in the Gospel of Matthew. In Luke and Mark, the phrase used is “the kingdom of God is like…” The parables are meant to help Jesus’ listeners—and us, listening in 2000 years later, to catch a glimpse of this new realm of existence that Jesus is proclaiming. The parables are meant to teach, to shed light on this new existence, but they are also meant to shock and unsettle us, for the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, is, above all else, something that transcends and challenges all human values, all expectations, all of our comfortable ways of thinking about things and living. Continue reading →