“‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’”(1:15)
Just like we could not experience God directly and so not understand Him vividly, we cannot understand the kingdom of God in such a viewpoint. This problem has been exposed already when we said that God and the kingdom of God are in accord. So it is possible to insist that the kingdom of God is meaningless to us because we cannot experience the kingdom of God as well as God Himself directly and totally in full understanding. But that is not true. In spite of not having full understanding, it is not unrelated with us. For example, in spite of children’s not having full understanding of their parents’ thinking, we cannot say that their parents not related with them or they are meaningless. Jesus was explaining the kingdom of God by parables, which is definitely being related with our lives directly, and what’s more, would make up our lives ultimately even though it is not exposed as real. Without parables it is impossible to explain the kingdom of God.
According to Jesus’ parables, the kingdom of God is like various fields where the seeds were thrown. The kingdom of God is like a master who brings daily laborers to work in his vineyard. It is like a father who has been waiting for a prodigal son, and like the yeast in three bags of flour. Jesus’ parables are original teachings to explain God and the kingdom of God.
And then the next thing is very important. Parables are not direct explanations about something, but indirect one. What Jesus explains the kingdom of God by parables means that the kingdom of God is not decisive or not finished. We could approach to the kingdom of God figuratively, but not experience as reality. But today there are lots of people who listen to the parables for the kingdom of God, and then regard it as reality. The way of living in this world as their happiest moment is sometimes regarded as the kingdom of God. It is possible for us, being thrown out to live in this world, to understand the kingdom of God only through the parables.
In Jesus’ parables about the kingdom of God, there is similarity. First of all, the kingdom is change. Yeast raises flour, and a seed grows. A father is waiting for a prodigal son. The feast is filled with guests in whatsoever way. The kingdom of God is a power to change our lives and social law and order. That power will be able to change our life form. Nobody knows how life form could be changed, but nothing could be left as it was before the kingdom of God.
Today we should be able to think a new parable about the kingdom of God. We should think what kind of parable could explain the kingdom of God to Korean people who are living in a divided country as south and north. As Jesus compares the kingdom of God as the master of a vineyard who gives the same amount of one denarius to each of the workers regardless of how long they work, we need spiritual imagination in order to overcome neo-liberalism which forces us to compete extremely. How about this parable? The kingdom of God is like an owner of a factory who gives the same wages both to native workers and to foreign workers. It is like a festival where the soldiers from the north and the south are dancing together without their weapons. The kingdom of God could control your lives as much as possible in which your imagination could reach.
Lord. We’ve lost the parables for the kingdom of God today. Give us power of imagination in parables. Amen.
Just like we could not experience God directly and so not understand Him vividly, we cannot understand the kingdom of God in such a viewpoint. This problem has been exposed already when we said that God and the kingdom of God are in accord. So it is possible to insist that the kingdom of God is meaningless to us because we cannot experience the kingdom of God as well as God Himself directly and totally in full understanding. But that is not true. In spite of not having full understanding, it is not unrelated with us. For example, in spite of children’s not having full understanding of their parents’ thinking, we cannot say that their parents not related with them or they are meaningless. Jesus was explaining the kingdom of God by parables, which is definitely being related with our lives directly, and what’s more, would make up our lives ultimately even though it is not exposed as real. Without parables it is impossible to explain the kingdom of God.
According to Jesus’ parables, the kingdom of God is like various fields where the seeds were thrown. The kingdom of God is like a master who brings daily laborers to work in his vineyard. It is like a father who has been waiting for a prodigal son, and like the yeast in three bags of flour. Jesus’ parables are original teachings to explain God and the kingdom of God.
And then the next thing is very important. Parables are not direct explanations about something, but indirect one. What Jesus explains the kingdom of God by parables means that the kingdom of God is not decisive or not finished. We could approach to the kingdom of God figuratively, but not experience as reality. But today there are lots of people who listen to the parables for the kingdom of God, and then regard it as reality. The way of living in this world as their happiest moment is sometimes regarded as the kingdom of God. It is possible for us, being thrown out to live in this world, to understand the kingdom of God only through the parables.
In Jesus’ parables about the kingdom of God, there is similarity. First of all, the kingdom is change. Yeast raises flour, and a seed grows. A father is waiting for a prodigal son. The feast is filled with guests in whatsoever way. The kingdom of God is a power to change our lives and social law and order. That power will be able to change our life form. Nobody knows how life form could be changed, but nothing could be left as it was before the kingdom of God.
Today we should be able to think a new parable about the kingdom of God. We should think what kind of parable could explain the kingdom of God to Korean people who are living in a divided country as south and north. As Jesus compares the kingdom of God as the master of a vineyard who gives the same amount of one denarius to each of the workers regardless of how long they work, we need spiritual imagination in order to overcome neo-liberalism which forces us to compete extremely. How about this parable? The kingdom of God is like an owner of a factory who gives the same wages both to native workers and to foreign workers. It is like a festival where the soldiers from the north and the south are dancing together without their weapons. The kingdom of God could control your lives as much as possible in which your imagination could reach.
Lord. We’ve lost the parables for the kingdom of God today. Give us power of imagination in parables. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment