Anyone familiar with the parables of Jesus knows how intriguing and inspiring they are. They twist and turn in our consciousness but speak to our hearts. They challenge us to know ourselves afresh. All of the parables are intent on having us assess our commitments and our allegiances. And they never let us off the hook.
John Coleman, a former English professor, is pastor of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Erie, Pennsylvania. In this soul-stirring collection of meditations, he offers provocative, out-of-the-box interpretations of the teachings of Jesus. The book focuses on five types of teachings: the blindside, the (re)visionary, the shalom, the perilous, and the restorative. Each chapter also contains starting points for conversations on the material presented. Coleman hopes that these considerations of the stories will guide readers in prayer, reflection, and action.
Again and again, the author returns to the Gospel logic that startles and sometimes even offends our sense of things: the first shall be last, children are wise, sinners are to be given another chance no matter what they have done. "There ain't no flies on Jesus" was the way he was described in a rock musical years ago. Coleman would agree. The man from Nazareth always slips away when anyone tries to trap him in the prison of conventional thinking. The author himself admits to having difficulty wrapping his mind around the fact that Jesus was a criminal who broke the law by blaspheming and healing on the Sabbath. Does our image of Jesus allow for a criminal element?
Coleman does a fine job offering fresh slants on Jesus' ability to find time for prayer when he was most busy, his gracious reception of the extravagant gift from the woman who anointed his feet, his openness to the woman at the well, his joy in the classroom of the road, and his unique take on prayer.
