There is a Montessori-based Christian Education program called “Godly Play” that tells the stories of scripture and liturgical actions using simple wooden or felt props. A key component of this program is “wondering” language. Rather than focus on correct or incorrect answers to questions, the leader invites the gathered group to wonder together about the story - what it might mean, where you might see yourself, and what it might tell us about what God is like.
In Godly Play, the parables are very special things. Listen to how this lesson intro talks about parables, whose materials are stored in boxes:
“Look! It is the color gold. Something inside must be precious like gold. Perhaps there is a parable inside. Parables are even more valuable than gold, so maybe there is one inside.
The box is also closed. There is a lid. Maybe there is a parable inside. Sometimes, even if we are ready, we can’t enter a parable. Parables are like that. Sometimes they stay closed.
The box looks like a present. Parables were given to you long ago as presents. Even if you don’t know what a parable is, the parable is yours already. You don’t have to take them, or buy them, or get them in any way. They already belong to you.
You need to be ready to find out if there is a parable inside. It is easy to break parables. What is hard to do is go inside.”
Parables are fixtures of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels. There are 42 parables in all, found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Some are repeated, and some show up only once. These stories that Jesus tells use everyday, accessible images and themes to help further illustrate a point. Sometimes, parables seem to only muddy the waters as we try to figure out what Jesus wants us to understand and take away.
I like how the Godly Play lesson says that it’s easy to break parables. One way we break parables is by forcing the characters to represent things they weren’t meant to represent, or by stretching a metaphor further than it was meant to go. Though it is uncomfortable, or may leave us feeling unsatisfied, it can be a useful practice to explore our wondering, knowing there is no final say or correct answer.
Let’s enter the parable of the fig tree.
There are three characters in the parable of the fig tree. There is the fig tree, which, three years in, has not yet grown any figs. There is the vineyard owner, who expresses frustration that, despite his waiting, the fig tree has yet to bear fruit. There is the gardener, who intervenes on behalf of the fig tree, offering to give special care for one more year, so that it might bear fruit.
As we think about these characters, I wonder how we are like them. I wonder how God is like them. I wonder what this story can tell us about ourselves and about God.
.
I wonder how you are like the fig tree.
I wonder if it feels like you are “wasting the soil”.
I wonder if it feels like you aren’t living up to your potential.
I wonder what kind of special care would enable you to produce fruit.
.
I wonder how God is like the fig tree.
I wonder how it might seem that God is doing nothing because we can’t see the fruit.
I wonder if we are guilty of wanting God to act on our timeline rather than God’s timeline.
.
I wonder how you are like the landowner.
I wonder if you feel frustrated about people or things in your life who are not “bearing fruit.”
I wonder if you are inclined to see deficits, waste, and frustration, rather than potential and hope.
I wonder if you are quick to end things that are not bringing about the results you expected or planned for.
.
I wonder how God is like the landowner.
I wonder if we feel like God is impatient with us, or that God desires to cut us down.
I wonder if we feel that God only values us for what we can produce.
.
I wonder how you are like the gardener.
I wonder if you are patient, and good at waiting.
I wonder if you are willing to get your hands dirty in the mud and manure to coax forth life from something that seems barren.
I wonder if you see potential where others see wasted soil and death.
I wonder if there are things in your life that need to be cut down or pruned so that something new can grow.
.
I wonder how God is like the gardener.
I wonder if it is hard to accept God’s affinity for things that need special attention and care.
I wonder how God has tended and cared for you.
I wonder what kinds of things act as fertilizer for our life of faith.
.
Though at first glance it seems simple, the parable of the fig tree gives us much to think about. As the weather warms and we creep toward spring, I wonder how your time working in the garden or out in the yard might call to mind this parable. If it does, I hope that what you remember is God’s nurturing care that is with us even in those seasons of life where it feels like we are lying dormant or have yet to bear fruit. I hope you recall the life-giving water sprinkled on you in baptism, and the rich food we receive here at the table. God’s tender nurture and care are for you.
In Godly Play, the parables are very special things. Listen to how this lesson intro talks about parables, whose materials are stored in boxes:
“Look! It is the color gold. Something inside must be precious like gold. Perhaps there is a parable inside. Parables are even more valuable than gold, so maybe there is one inside.
The box is also closed. There is a lid. Maybe there is a parable inside. Sometimes, even if we are ready, we can’t enter a parable. Parables are like that. Sometimes they stay closed.
The box looks like a present. Parables were given to you long ago as presents. Even if you don’t know what a parable is, the parable is yours already. You don’t have to take them, or buy them, or get them in any way. They already belong to you.
You need to be ready to find out if there is a parable inside. It is easy to break parables. What is hard to do is go inside.”
Parables are fixtures of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels. There are 42 parables in all, found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Some are repeated, and some show up only once. These stories that Jesus tells use everyday, accessible images and themes to help further illustrate a point. Sometimes, parables seem to only muddy the waters as we try to figure out what Jesus wants us to understand and take away.
I like how the Godly Play lesson says that it’s easy to break parables. One way we break parables is by forcing the characters to represent things they weren’t meant to represent, or by stretching a metaphor further than it was meant to go. Though it is uncomfortable, or may leave us feeling unsatisfied, it can be a useful practice to explore our wondering, knowing there is no final say or correct answer.
Let’s enter the parable of the fig tree.
 |
| Photo by Neslihan Gunaydin on Unsplash |
As we think about these characters, I wonder how we are like them. I wonder how God is like them. I wonder what this story can tell us about ourselves and about God.
.
I wonder how you are like the fig tree.
I wonder if it feels like you are “wasting the soil”.
I wonder if it feels like you aren’t living up to your potential.
I wonder what kind of special care would enable you to produce fruit.
.
I wonder how God is like the fig tree.
I wonder how it might seem that God is doing nothing because we can’t see the fruit.
I wonder if we are guilty of wanting God to act on our timeline rather than God’s timeline.
.
I wonder how you are like the landowner.
I wonder if you feel frustrated about people or things in your life who are not “bearing fruit.”
I wonder if you are inclined to see deficits, waste, and frustration, rather than potential and hope.
I wonder if you are quick to end things that are not bringing about the results you expected or planned for.
.
I wonder how God is like the landowner.
I wonder if we feel like God is impatient with us, or that God desires to cut us down.
I wonder if we feel that God only values us for what we can produce.
.
I wonder how you are like the gardener.
I wonder if you are patient, and good at waiting.
I wonder if you are willing to get your hands dirty in the mud and manure to coax forth life from something that seems barren.
I wonder if you see potential where others see wasted soil and death.
I wonder if there are things in your life that need to be cut down or pruned so that something new can grow.
.
I wonder how God is like the gardener.
I wonder if it is hard to accept God’s affinity for things that need special attention and care.
I wonder how God has tended and cared for you.
I wonder what kinds of things act as fertilizer for our life of faith.
.
Though at first glance it seems simple, the parable of the fig tree gives us much to think about. As the weather warms and we creep toward spring, I wonder how your time working in the garden or out in the yard might call to mind this parable. If it does, I hope that what you remember is God’s nurturing care that is with us even in those seasons of life where it feels like we are lying dormant or have yet to bear fruit. I hope you recall the life-giving water sprinkled on you in baptism, and the rich food we receive here at the table. God’s tender nurture and care are for you.
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