Jesus, Deliciously Odd 3

This is the season for publishers to stun the world with the latest discoveries of Jesus, but it appears there is very little in the offing this year. But one book that is now available is Pope Benedict’s volume two about Jesus, and I really enjoyed his volume one. So: Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection.

Back now to our series: William Willimon’s book, Why Jesus?, is about Jesus. Each chapter sketches a theme about Jesus. Nothing is as “deliciously odd” (from a blurb on the back of this book by Jason Byassee) about Jesus as his parables, and Willimon is simply at his best playfully and probingly explaining those parables for us.

You can try to capture Jesus by explaining his parables, but the Jesus you capture will escape by the time you open your capturing hands. He makes some points about the method itself — this parable telling of Jesus.

Which of these statements by Willimon is your favorite? Why? And which parable does it really fit?

First, “Parables, these pithy, strange little stories from everyday life, are the most distinctive — and peculiar — aspect of the teaching of Jesus. Parables are close cousins of another distinctive literary form: the joke.”

Second, “Jesus comes across at times as this Zen-like teacher whose greatest desire is not to pass out the right answers but rather to tease and to provoke even more questions.”

Third, “These parables are like windows through which we see into the heart of God. Yet sometimes, when you gaze through a window, there is a moment when you catch the reflection of your face.”

Fourth, “Surely Jesus could have found a more effective mode of explaining his message — unless explaining of his message was not his chief goal.”

Fifth, “Maybe Jesus tells these stories in order to make you a character in the story, in order to put your life in the grand narrative of God’s salvation in the world.”

Sixth, “… parables are meant to dislodge more than to explain.”

Seventh, “Jesus is a parable.”