I’m returning for a few weeks to this book, Short stories by Jesus by Amy- Jill Levine, professor of Jewish studies and New Testament at Vanderbilt Divinity school in Nashville. She describes herself as “a Yankee, Jewish, Feminist who teaches in a predominantly Christian Divinity School in the Buckle of the Bible belt.” The book is primarily about all the ways that Christians interpret the parables of Jesus allegorically, with most of the interpretations focusing on who gets into heaven and Jews the enemy, and she notes that even the gospel writers added their own allegorical interpretations to the text of the parables.
Levine reminds us that Jesus told the stories to fellow Jews who had no idea that he would be proclaimed the son of God by millions. And she asks us to try to hear the parables in that context. She says, “One does not have to worship Jesus for the parables to have meaning.
The people who first heard them did not. They paid attention because the parables spoke to their hearts. I do not worship Jesus, but I continue to return to these stories because they are at the heart of my own Judaism. They have provided me with hours of inspiration and conversation. If we hear them in their original context, and if we avoid the anti-Jewish interpretations that deform them, they gleam with a shine that cannot be hidden.”
Today we are looking at the very short parable, The Pearl of Great Price in Matthew 13, 45-46, which says, “The realm of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Levine says that Christians typically read this parable as an allegory of discipleship, with the merchant as the disciple and the pearl as the gospel. Or Jesus is the pearl of great value.Or the pearl is the church, and we have been purchased through the blood of Christ. Or God is the merchant and we are the pearl. Or the pearl is the New Covenant Jesus speaks about. Levine is a scholar, so after she asks us to resist reading the parable as allegory, she spends 12 pages telling us more than I ever needed to know about merchants and pearls.
Finally, she suggests that this parable simply challenges us, as it would Jesus’ fellow Jews who heard it, to ask ourselves what is truly of value to us. For what would we sell or give everything we own? For what would we make a drastic and life-changing act? Levine asked her students the question. One woman answered that it was her doctoral degree. She already had a Masters of Divinity, and was planning to go directly into a doctoral program in New Testament. But she got married, to a pastor, and her husband discouraged her from seeking her doctorate, because he had his and felt that one Doctor of Ministry in the family was enough. But eventually she did apply to the program and was accepted, with funding.
She decided to enroll, and that hastened the end of her marriage. She said, “I gave up my home. I took out loans. I took back my original name. I do not know what will happen at the end of this program. But that does not matter. I am doing what is right for me. I have my pearl.” One of Levine’s Divinity students in the Riverbend Maximum security prison answered, Freedom. Saying he would do whatever it took to increase his chances of parole. Another Riverbend student answered, Safety. And other, his Dignity. We know that the Civil Rights activists asked themselves that question. Their answer was, Justice and Equality. And they risked everything, including their very lives, fighting for those values. Gay and trans rights activists’ answer is to not just be tolerated, but accepted and included as we are. For a great number of people all over the world, especially girls, their pearl is to be able to go to school. For the millions of refugees, it is safety for themselves and their families and the chance at a life without constant fear. For migrants, it’s the opportunity to work so their children can have better lives than they have had.
This parable also challenges us to ask, What is of great value to our neighbors?
If we can find that out, we might be able to help them find their pearls. For so many of our neighbors out of work, they are most in need of food and supplies, masks and gloves, money to pay their bills, and help navigating the arduous task of filing for unemployment benefits. For some neighbors, their pearl is a place to live other than in the woods. For others, it’s a computer so their children can participate in online learning. And books to read to them. There are so very many people in our world who would give all they had just to have someone love them unconditionally.
The parables that Jesus told speak to our hearts and our situations too. There’s no need to add meaning that isn’t there. Jesus said all that we need to hear. The parable, The Pearl of Great Price challenges us to ask ourselves what is most important to us and to our neighbors. And then to align our actions with those values. Amen. Take Care.
No comments:
Post a Comment