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Proclaiming the Parables: Preaching and Teaching the Kingdom of God
By Thomas G. Long
Westminster John Knox Press, 2024, £32.00
Jesus told parables that intrigued and which were immensely powerful. The Gospel writers’ inclusion of so many of them testifies to that. Why then are sermons preached upon them no more powerful than those based on any other scripture?
This question pushed distinguished biblical interpreter and homiletics professor, Tom Long, to re-examine his understanding of Jesus’s parables, and what he had taught about them over many years. This profoundly helpful book is the outcome of that process.
Readers coming looking for hints for Sunday’s sermon will find many helpful suggestions, but Proclaiming the Parables offers much more. It issues a substantial, challenging, but clearly written call to first address essential questions: What are parables? Do we preach the Gospel writer’s take on the parable or the “original” we discern behind it? To what extent do we explain, and to what extent proclaim a parable? Is God’s ‘kingdom’ about the here and now, something for the future, or a bit of both?
To answer these questions, prior to exploring the parables themselves, Long first provides background on the way scholarly debate focuses more on how the parables function as stories which alter perceptions and attitudes. For him, attention to their literary qualities has come at the expense of the more significant matter of their theological content and purpose. Parables proclaim good news about God’s nature and God’s activity in this world, encouraging us to respond with action.
So focusing on what parables are saying to us, rather than how parables work upon us, Long examines Mark, Matthew and Luke, with a chapter for each concerning their distinctive approaches. Mark’s Jesus is the dynamic man of action, but his (few) parables paint a gentler, pastoral picture of God’s activity. In Matthew, troubling parables emphasise judgement, and the punishment awaiting those found wanting, but might these be cartoon-like representations of what might happen rather than what must happen – like Dicken’s Scrooge in A Christmas Carol? Luke provides those beautifully told, well-loved stories, featuring good Samaritans, and lost sheep, coins and sons. The tone is positive, but all must be interpreted in the light of God’s ‘great reversal’ between poor and rich, weak and powerful which characterises this Gospel.
Having highlighted distinctive Gospel perspectives, Long proceeds to substantial examination of each and every parable, offering an abundance of insights throughout. He draws upon current biblical scholarship, but also writes with a preacher’s eye for arresting images and applications appropriate to contemporary settings. On occasion, these reflect his North American context, but not so as to obscure meaning or usefulness.
For preachers then, this book is an unexpectedly substantial read for a not insubstantial price, but one that offers us rich rewards.
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