Praying the Parables in Lent
By The Rev. Canon Brien Koehler, SSC, ’76
The season of self-examination, repentance, and resolve is upon us again; and Lenten rules are being formed with energy and purpose all across the Church. Self-examination is one of the marks of a solid Lenten rule, and guides to self-examination are abundant. Some pose questions based on the Ten Commandments. Others use a framework built on the Seven Deadly Sins. And there are still more variations in devotional books that have proven useful for generations, if not centuries.
It is possible as well to use the parables of Jesus as a kind of self-examination. Jesus often introduced his parables by saying “the Kingdom of Heaven is like . . .” And though not all parables have these words or this theme, they all have something to do with what the kingdom is like, what we can expect, or what will help us to see that it is near.
Jesus’ core teaching is “the Kingdom of God is near, repent, and believe the gospel” (Mk. 1:15; Heb. 12:1-2). Commitment to and belief in the gospel are the essential marks of being part of the Kingdom. And since the parables describe in familiar terms aspects and insights of the kingdom, the parables can become measures or standards of our nearness to or our distance from the Kingdom of God.
Often we may consider personalizing the parables. “Personalizing” is done by recasting the verses using “I” and “me” in familiar passages. For example, the familiar words of Romans 5:8 in “personalized” form become “God shows his love for me in that while I was yet a sinner Christ died for me.” To personalize a parable: pick one and place yourself in it as any one of the characters. Use your name and pronouns as necessary.
For example, in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk. 15), place your name in for the younger son (or the older son) and adjust the words as necessary. Try it with the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10), and place yourself, in turn, in the various roles (probably not the man beaten and left by the road!). There are many other options for your devotional role-play throughout the parables.
As you try this a few times, you will be able to compare yourself to the original characters. Would you be better than the priest and the Levite who passed by on the other side? Would you be as good as the Samaritan? Would you fit best as the younger son or as the older son? Would you look until you found the lost coin? Would you go for the lost sheep? What evidence is in your life to confirm your review of yourself?
This is the point where the parables can become a guide for self-examination and correction or rejoicing.
As you set yourself into the parables, imagining in your meditation how you would respond to the challenges and opportunities of the parable, try to picture what those who heard Jesus tell the story would think of you in the various roles. And then imagine what the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us and encourages us by their fellowship and their prayers would see as they look at the testimony you present as you play out the roles of the parables.
And finally, think for a moment about the other witnesses to your life—the witnesses who are not part of the great Communion of Saints, but rather are those (often outside of the Christian family) who see you day in and day out and reach conclusions about you and your Christian faith based on what they see. What do such witnesses see when they look upon us?
Tertullian (160-220 AD) wrote of how Christians were seen by pagans: "’Look,’ they say, ‘how they love one another’ (for [the pagans] themselves hate one another); ‘and how they are ready to die for each other’ (for [the pagans] themselves are readier to kill each other)” (Apologeticum 39:7). What would an apologist today write about Christians in general? What would be written about you or me in particular?
The Rev. Canon Brien Koehler, SSC, ‘76, serves as Associate Rector of Mission and Formation at Christ Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas.
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Speaking of parables, we hope you will consider this short course here on Jesus’ parables. Here, Dr. Garwood Anderson considers parables that we thought we’ve always understood along with those that have never really made sense. The Parables of Jesus: Making the Familiar Strange is a free online course offered by Nashotah House.