In July I posted about the significance of contemplation and action
here at Carlow University. These two dimensions of Christian spirituality and
practice are integral to the heritage of the Sisters of Mercy and are also a
key feature of Carlow’s new general education curriculum, the Carlow Compass. In contemplation
and action courses second semester students are challenged to reflect on an
issue from the perspective of a particular academic discipline, and to choose a
small but meaningful act of service which they will practice throughout the
semester. We are calling it “a small act of mercy.” Students will reflect on
this act in conversation with the course readings, in discussion with their
classmates, and in their own times of reflection. In January the first round of
contemplation and action courses will be offered, and among them will be my
course “The Parables of Jesus: Ancient Stories with Enduring Meaning.”
Here is the course description from the syllabus:
This course examines one of the most noteworthy aspects of the teaching style of Jesus: his use of simple stories to engage his listeners and to challenge them to consider new ways of understanding the world and their place in it. Our exploration of the parables of Jesus will consider what we can learn from them both in terms of what they teach and also in terms of how they communicate. Since justice, mercy, and virtue are prominent themes in the parables, this Contemplation and Action course allows ample opportunity for students to reflect on Carlow University’s Mercy heritage with its commitment to service, social responsibility, and ethical reasoning. In addition to course readings, reflection papers, class discussion, and the composition of their own parables, students will also engage in small act of service throughout the semester. These activities will become part of a reflective framework by which they can begin to hone their personal ethic and perspective on social responsibility in light of the Mercy tradition.
For this course I have selected Amy Jill Levine’s Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi as the primary text. Her analysis of the parables within their first century
Jewish context is very illuminating. Those familiar with her work will not be
surprised to learn that in this volume she challenges a number of “traditional”
readings of the parables, particularly those interpretations that present
Judaism in a negative light and Christianity as a refreshing alternative to the
stale legalism and hypocrisy of the Pharisees. She shows that in many cases
such readings derive from a kind of latent (or blatant) anti-Judaism, and that
these readings are not supported by sound exegesis. Instead, she challenges
readers to hear the parables as first century Jews would have heard them, and
as coming from a first-century Jewish teacher. In this way, we can hear the
challenge of each parable anew, and then consider the challenge it may offer
contemporary readers. While she does not always succeed in forwarding a new or
better reading of every parable, her placing of each in its historical context
is commendable and provides excellent background material with which to work.
And though this will be my first time teaching this course with this textbook,
it seems to me that this volume will be accessible to undergraduate students.
In addition to Levine’s book students will use Louise Schottroff’s volume,
The Parables of Jesus, to help them do some further research on some
parables of their choosing. In a completely different vein, students will read
Henri Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son in which he reflects on
his sustained encounter with Rembrandt’s painting of this important scene
within the parable. In many ways, his reflections move well beyond the kind of
historical and exegetical work we will be doing in class. And I will be
interested to see how students engage with his work at the end of the semester.
