Yesterday I was part of a Bible study group that has members across the southeast U.S. We're going to look at parables, a plan which has many benefits. The readings are short, and for the leaders (I'm one of them), the prep time is minimal. Of course, there's lots of resources if one wants them. I used this Bible study as a reason to buy Amy-Jill Levine's Short Stories by Jesus.
That book begins with the parable of the lost sheep--or is it the one who owns the sheep who is lost? We'll follow the path of the book for the next several meetings: lost coins, the lost sons, and then yeast. One thing that never struck me until I read the book: a man who owns 100 sheep is rich. A wealthy-ish peasant would own a sheep or two, not a hundred.
I also had never considered how difficult it would be to notice the disappearance of one sheep if you have a hundred sheep. As we talked about this parable, we created a more modern version.
Most of us in the Bible study group work in the education field, and for some of them, this past week was their first week back. She talked about the first recess time, when one grade group mingled with another grade group and some of the students who were supposed to go inside with their class stayed outside with a different class. Because it was the first week and because there were so many students, it was hard to tell by sight who wasn't where they were supposed to be.
Happily it was easily sorted out, and this is where the updating of the parable falls apart. In the parable, the sheep and the shepherd are in a wilderness area. When the shepherd goes after one sheep, the remaining herd is in danger, as is the lost sheep. In the schoolyard and school building, the children were safe.
It was interesting to have this discussion of parables, many of which are so familiar to us to have lost their strangeness. I feel fortunate to have a group willing to dive in with me.
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