Jesus of Nazareth used parables to circle around the mysterious and enthralling Kingdom of God. Father Edward Hays, author of The Ladder and 22 other books, has fashioned two wonderful contemporary parables about memory and imagination. Together they run about 38 minutes. Both touch the heart and stretch the soul as they lead us to consider the marvels of the Kingdom of God in our lives today.
"The Little Tin Box" revolves around the experiences of a couple forced to sell their farm and auction off their possessions. Although most of us would be bereft in such a situation, Tom and Sarah are not. For they have stored all the golden moments of their lives in two identical tin boxes. On their last night together on the farm, they harvest these memories together, realizing that all that they need is contained in this treasure-trove. "Such good things can happen to people who learn to remember," Emily Dickinson has written. Experience for yourself just what this means by savoring "The Little Tin Box."
"The Magic Fishbowl" is a parable affirming the high and holy calling of the imagination. Just as a goldfish in a small bowl is limited by the size of his surroundings, we can close off options for spiritual growth by not constantly expanding our horizons. Hays challenges us to see the Kingdom of God as a space in the heart where there are no boundaries between the clean and the unclean, the saved and the unsaved, the righteous and the lost, the insiders and the outsiders.
Imagination is a spiritual practice that must be reinstated as a precious resource in the Christian community. Father Edward Hays has done his work; now we must step into these parables and bring them into fruition in our everyday lives.
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