Let’s Hear It For John 3:17!

 

Church-goer or not, anyone who’s watched football on TV or been to a game has surely heard of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes on Him will have everlasting life.” That’s a promise –the most vital one the Lord gives, assuring us of His plan for our salvation.

Unfortunately, many people do not believe they’re worthy of such a hope. Or they think Christ came, but not for them. And that’s where John 3:17 comes in. As the verse says: “For Christ did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that, through Him, the world might be saved.”

What constitutes the world? The earth and the physical beings who dwell here. That means people. And, “people” includes every human being, every person, me, and, of course, you.

The guarantee of John 3:17 has nothing to do with how good we are or how depraved! Whether we’re little-goody-two-shoes or people too ashamed to hold up our heads, God’s will is for all to be saved – for all to spend eternity in the presence of His endless love.

So, how do we get there? Jesus Himself answered that question. When people asked, He replied: “This is the work of God, to believe in The One He has sent,” John 6:29.

For Christ didn’t come into the world to sentence us and jail us in hell! The Lord wants our faith in Him to enable us to receive the forgiveness, saving grace, and eternal love He offers to all who believe.

 

© 2025, Mary Sayler

Betraying Jesus

 

At the crucifixion, all the sins of the world landed on Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice freely given by the unblemished Lamb of God – God’s Son, Who took all our blemishes to His grave, left them there, and, on Easter, arose without them.

If, however, we think all the blame of this landed on Judas, the definitive betrayer, we would be wrong. For, as Jesus carried our sins, Judas carried our blame.

Hopefully, this poem, published decades ago in A Time of Singing will help to clarify.

 

Is It I, Lord?

I, who love you more
than others, more than self,
deceive you? Never!
An enemy perhaps – or a friend,
(trying to be kind, you understand.)
But not you, Lord.
Oh, no! Oh, no, not you.

Then who or what or how
will someone else
betray you now?

Through hurting words –
cruel cutting swords
of eyes or lies, deceiving...?
In their own righteousness,
believing...?

Oh, my God!  My
God, it is I!
It is I
who crucify.

 

©1984, Mary Sayler

 

Jesus can use the Internet!

 

If you’ve ever been to church or read the Bible, you’ve surely heard Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:18-19:

 

King James Version

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations….”

 

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition

“And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations….”

 

For those of us who never felt called to serve as missionaries in various countries, this Great Commission doesn’t seem to apply. But, if you’ve read the whole Bible, you know that God doesn’t ask His people to do something without providing the means.

 

With Christ on the Internet, we can teach all nations from our homes, offices, or mobile devices! Blogs, websites, e-zines, e-books, podcasts, e-mail, text-messages, and social media sites open multiple ways to The Way. Or, to be more precise, The Way provides and uses many ways - even cyberspace - to reach and teach us and others.

 

Remember the particular powers the Lord has been given? As Matthew 28 clearly states, Jesus has ALL POWER in heaven and in the earth. We’re talking Cosmic Connections! Wouldn’t that include satellite dishes, radio waves, and other means I don’t even know to mention?

 

The point is, everything falls under the power of the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

• Prayers sites to connect us with one another, enabling two or more of us to make our prayer requests agreeable to Jesus’ Name….
• Searchable Bibles online to answer questions, provide commentary, and enable us to research what God actually says about a topic, not just what we thought He said….
• Information from trustworthy sites to help us through mental, physical, or spiritual health concerns….

 

That last thought first began this conversation. i.e., In a harrowing weekend involving lots of blood, no hospital anywhere near, and shut-downs of family doctors, I panicked! I did not know what to do. By Saturday evening, I’d looked and looked for information on the Internet to no avail. Then came Sunday.

 

I’d been praying all along – mostly “God help!” but that morning I asked Jesus to please lead me to the information needed. He did. Maybe it was the way my search changed or the way sites I hadn’t noticed before now caught my attention or the way that Christ’s presence sustained me. But, whatever way the Lord used, The Way led me to the way that calmed, that worked, that healed.

 

©2021, Mary Sayler

 

….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learning to See God

 

Many of us ask how to hear God better, but maybe it’s more basic to first learn how to see.

 

The Bible gives us a comprehensive picture of God.

 

We get a wide-angle view of God and His ongoing interactions with mankind by reading the Bible cover to cover, preferably in more than one translation.

 

For an up close and personal relationship, we zoom in by becoming acquainted with Old Testament worshipers and by reading the Gospels and seeing how God clearly shows Himself in the character, wisdom, healing acts, forgiveness, and love of His Son Jesus.

 

Creation reveals the power and majesty of God.

 

The universe invites us into the unknown and helps us to see and acknowledge the ongoing mystery of God.

 

The earth displays the colorful variety and creative beauty of our Creator. As we exercise our own creativity in the light of God’s image, we see tiny details, enormous diversity, and infinite possibilities.

 

Personal, local, and world events help us to see our need for God.

 

As we become aware of a problem, large or small, we might see something specific to pray about, trusting God has a purpose for whatever He allows.

 

Godly friends and family help us to see God.

 

In both the Old Testament and the New, God calls us into community through family, friends, and fellow worshipers, each of whom has a unique way of seeing God’s hand in their lives and ours. These perspectives help us to expand our own view of our loving God.

 

Confession removes blinders so we can better see.

 

Bible Gateway provides many translations of a key-to-seeing verse in Matthew 7:5. As you look through a few of these, notice the repetitive phrase involving seeing:

 

“…first get the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye,” Amplified (AMP.)

 

“First take the log out of your eye, and then you’ll see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s or sister’s eye,” Common English Bible (CEB.)

 

“…first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye,” King James Version (KJV.)

 

“…remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye,” New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE.)

 

“…first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye,” New International Version (NIV.)

 

Confessing our mistakes allows us to see clearly again, which brings discernment and a faultless view of God.

 

With clear, discerning vision, we can see and perceive God in circumstances, other people, and ourselves.

 

Then we can recognize the light in and around us.

 

Then we’ll be apt to look for good.

 

Then we can see and be love as God sees us into His Kingdom.

 

 

©2021, Mary Sayler, poet-writer, lifelong student of the Bible

 

 

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You're Cordially Invited to the Reading of God’s Will

 

We, the people of God, often speak of God’s Will, and each of us most likely has an idea of what that means. For an accurate reading of God’s Will, however, let's see what God's Word says:

 

God’s Will is for no one to perish. God wants us to turn from ungodly ways.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,” 2 Peter 3:9, New King James Version.

 

God’s Will is for everyone to be saved. We agree with His Will – and help to put it into motion – as we pray for everyone.

“…I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone… for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth,” 1 Timothy 2:1-4, New American Bible (Revised Edition.)

God’s Will is for us to trust Him, no matter what!

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” 1 Thessalonians 5:18, King James Version.

A Will does not go into effect until death occurs.

God’s Will went into effect with the death of Jesus Christ, Who overcame death to save us for Eternal Life in the Lord.

 

God’s Will is for all to live in God forever.

“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day,” John 6:40, New International Version.

 

God Wills to save the world!

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him,” John 3:16-17, Holman Christian Standard Bible.

 

 

©2021, Mary Harwell Sayler, poet-writer, Bible reviewer, and compiler and paraphraser of the Book of Bible Prayers, which was researched on Bible Gateway as was this post

 

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Where are we on the Cross?

As we head toward Good Friday and the crucifixion of Jesus, the biblical command to “take up your cross and follow Christ” comes to mind. Sadly, we might think this means carrying heavy weights or generally being miserable throughout our lives when, actually, it’s the opposite!

Taking up our cross and following Christ is meant to be freeing, not burdensome. It’s meant to exchange our self-will for the will of God.

God gave us free will, so the decision to follow the Lord is ours to make. However, this doesn’t mean, literally, to take up our own crucifixion or other human sacrifice. As you’ll recall, the Bible consistently reminds us that God the Father prohibited human sacrifice as the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 clearly demonstrates.

The only time God the Father required a human sacrifice was of Himself in His fullness as Jesus the Son of God and the son of Mary.

So how do we go about obeying the Lord’s command to take up our cross and follow Him as a living sacrifice? Doesn't it mean to exchange our free will for the will of God and our old selves for new life – new spiritual birth in Christ?

Searching key words and phrases on the Bible Gateway website helps to clarify. For example:

“We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin,” Romans 6:6, Amplified Bible (AMP.)

or to put it another way:

“This is what we know: the person that we used to be was crucified with him in order to get rid of the corpse that had been controlled by sin. That way we wouldn’t be slaves to sin anymore,” Romans 6:6, Common English Bible (CEB.)

Crucifixion means death, but when we take up His cross as our cross, we can follow Christ Jesus into His resurrection life – His life in the Spirit – beginning now!

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me,” Galatians 2:20, King James Version (KJV.)

In other words:

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me,” Galatians 2:20, New Living Translation (NLT.)

Therefore:

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus,” Romans 6:11, English Standard Version (ESV.)

Praise the Lord for His life, death, and resurrection in us!

May we wear our Lord’s Easter clothing as we follow Christ, now and forever, into the resurrected life.

 

Mary Harwell Sayler

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Why I murdered Jesus

[Spoiler Alert! We know we've all sinned, but this prose poem makes it personal.]

Even in the Garden of Eden, God wanted everything perfect. How could I fit in? I thought of fruit as food, not fare for knowing good and evil or other things over my head! Why entice me with beautiful berries wrapped in seamless silken skin – fragrance summoning me – and no seeds to navigate around, no hard core in the middle?

I admit I disobeyed. I ignored Your clear instructions, Lord. And then You murdered me!

You sent my now-limited life from the Garden in shame – spiritually dead, nothing the same, everything changed forever.

How hard I toil for fruit that spoils in a life filled with imperfection! I feel worthless. I question myself at every turn, fearing Your rejection.

Where do I go? How do I live with myself? How do I live without You?

Trying to be good and obey every dot and iota of the law didn’t do it! Neither did self-hatred nor mutilating remorse. I wanted to make things right, Lord, but I couldn’t, and You wouldn’t let me!

You sent Yourself –

Your Son –

The Perfect One –

Who perfectly suited

Your plan of redemption,

the Fruit of Yourself –

Your Pure Love – given

to exempt me from my own sin.

I’m sorry, Lord! I’m sorry, but

I could not stand

to look on such Whole and Holy Love

and live

as I’d been living.

What could I do but kill Him?

by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017

[EPILOGUE/PRAYER: Lord, help us to confess anything that keeps us from You. Help us to truly accept Your forgiveness. Praise You, Lord, for overcoming death, forgiving all who turn to You, and bringing us new life and a fresh start each day in Jesus' Name.]

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A poem of comfort: 9/11

Jesus walked through flames for us.

He brought calm

to the terrorized planes.

The Twin Towers came down

around Him, 

holding

your husband, your wife, your child.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2018/09/11

...

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary by Brant Pitre gives Christians from all backgrounds a better understanding of the biblical view of the Mother of Christ.

Published by Image, who kindly sent me a copy to review, the book begins with the author’s questioning the church’s teaching about Mary in his attempt to answer his own questions and those often asked by non-Catholics.

As the Introduction says, “This book is written for anyone who has ever wondered what the Bible really teaches about Mary, the mother of Jesus.”

Then, “Eventually, it dawned on me that the reason I had begun to consider Catholic beliefs about Mary ‘unbiblical’ was that I was not paying enough attention to the Old Testament.”

Does this matter? As the Introduction goes on to say, “When it comes to the mother of Jesus, the stakes are high. Mary is a dividing line between Christians. And the issues involved are serious. If Protestants are right about Mary, then both Catholic and Orthodox Christians – more than half of the world’s Christian population – are committing idolatry on a regular basis. If Catholics and Orthodox are right about Mary, then Protestant Christians – a little less than half of the world’s Christians – are missing out on what the Bible as a whole reveals about the mother of Christ.”

As a Christian who sees where both sides are coming from, I was not interested in who's right but in God’s ongoing command to honor our parents. And, my honoring the mother of my Savior seems like the respectful, responsible thing to do. In addition, I’ve often heard – in the early church and onward –  peoples of all faiths have been drawn to Mary, who then draws them to Christ.

After reading this book with interest, I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about Jesus’ mother and the biblical parallels between her and various women in the Hebrew Bible. In the chapter, “The New Eve,” for instance, the author draws parallels between Mary and Eve, the latter of whom was referred to in Genesis as “woman” before the Fall and only given a proper name afterwards. Since I’d never noticed that distinction before, I could at last see why Jesus referred to His mother as “woman” a couple of times – not out of disrespect but as making a connection between her and the first woman. For, as the New Testament calls Jesus the “New Adam,” Mary can well be considered the New Eve.

Another biblical parallel occurs between Mary and the “Queen Mother” of the Old Testament. For example, the wife (or wives) of a king was not referred to as the Queen Mother, but his biological mother had that particular title. And so, with her Son Jesus as the King of Kings, Mary would understandably be placed in that royal category.

Other parallels can be found in the Ark of the Covenant that contained the Word of God and with Rachel, who weeps for her lost children. But, Dr. Pitre - a graduate of Notre Dame and present Research Professor of Scripture and Theology at the Augustine Institute - explains far better and more knowledgeably than I in this thought-provoking, easy-to-read, engaging book that, I pray, will help to heal the Marian rifts among us.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019, poet-writer, reviewer

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary, hardback

Branching from Christ, The Vine

As I stared at a picture of a leaf, the sight jolted me into a new awareness, recalling what Jesus said: “I Am The Vine. You are the branches,” John 15:5. Branches - not a leaf!

A leaf is a singular thing - independent, not communal.

A leaf cannot bear fruit. It does not spread or reproduce, and, eventually, it falls. A leaf leaves!

“I Am the vine; ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing,” John 15:5, King James Version (KJV.)

Jesus Christ The Vine has life, has power.

As branches grow in a healthy manner, they stay in communion with the vine and with other branches, entwining themselves around one another, staying strong, producing fruit, and spreading - making a difference wherever they go.

That’s us! Praise the Lord in Whom we have our life, our power, our fruit, our being.

Mary Sayler, ©2018

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No Trespassing into the New Year

This first day of the New Year presents us with the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate the past, let go of anything that needs forgiving, and resolve to keep our relationships with God, ourselves, and others free of obstructions.

The Lord’s Prayer or Our Father reminds us to do this every day. Indeed, Jesus teaches us to ask for God’s forgiveness with the understanding (condition?) that we, too, must forgive.

Most translations of the Matthew 6 version of the prayer call us to forgive “debts,” but that connotation of a monetary obligation can be confusing. To clarify, Jesus goes on to say:

“If you forgive others their trespasses against you, your heavenly Father will forgive yours too, but if you do not forgive them for their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours,” Matthew 6:14-15.

In addition, Christians in many church denominations regularly pray the Our Father, asking God to:

“Forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.”

In my church, we not only pray the Lord’s Prayer each Sunday, we end each Bible study session with this prayer Jesus gave to His followers. But, this Sunday, one of our newer members told me he couldn’t think of any trespasses against him!

I had to laugh. Moments earlier he had expressed concern for a woman who lived in one of his rental properties. When she couldn’t pay her rent one month, he lowered it from $800 to $500, which she reportedly could handle. But then, when she didn’t pay even that lesser amount the next month, he told her $100 would be okay.

When she made no attempt to pay anything toward her rent or make any arrangements at all or even discuss the matter, he reluctantly told her she would have to move. The deadline came and went, and she remained – rent-free – in his house, despite the financial responsibility this put on him. But here’s the thing:

It did not even occur to him that she had trespassed against him!

Although it’d become clear that the woman was taking advantage of him by staying in his house, she continued to trespass on his property. She kept increasing her debt. And yet, this man took no offense. He did not see himself as being victimized or put upon.

Seeing this Christlike response, I realized that forgiving those who trespass against us is the bare minimum we’re to do!

Greater than our need to forgive is the God-given ability for giving others empathy, kindness, the benefit of the doubt, and the generosity of a loving spirit that isn’t even offended!

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2018

…

 

Joy to the world!

Oh, come! Let us celebrate
the birth of the Christ-Child
Who rejoices at our rebirth.

The Holy Infant Jesus –
dependent
on us for His care –
shows us
how we must
come to Him
like trusting children.

Hold Him on your lap
with love,
and let Him hug you,
heal you,
and hum a lullaby.

by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017, from the poetry book PRAISE!

Leaving every stone unturned to bread

As my Bible Study group discussed Luke 4, we read about the temptations Jesus endured in the wilderness. Significantly, those tests of faith came immediately after His baptism in the Jordan River and immediately before His ministry began.

Each of those tests ultimately tempted Jesus to do something to stop the crucifixion – the final sacrifice to undo the works of the devil and remove every trace of sin inherent in every race of people. But the temptations began on a very human level of weakness – hunger.

After fasting for 40 days, Jesus became so close to starvation that Satan tried to take advantage of this weakened state. In the first temptation, he challenged Jesus by saying, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread,” Luke 4:3, English Standard Version (ESV.)

For one thing, if Jesus had done that, He would have been trying to prove Himself – something God doesn’t do throughout scripture. (See Exodus 3:14.)

For another, if Jesus had given in to hunger and temptation, the results would have been magic or sorcery, rather than the power of God.

Later, when the Lord turned water into wine and fed many thousands with a few little fish and a small amount of bread, He used what was there to perform, not magic, but miracles! He took something natural and real and expanded its potential – something we might pray for at every church picnic or potluck when we have less food than people!

Jesus wants us to reach out to others and feed His sheep without holding back in fear or stinginess, but He would never, ever tempt us to turn stones into bread! Why?

It would be a lie.

In the desert terrain where the temptations occurred, an abundance of wind-smoothed, rounded stones actually look like big loaves of bread. But rocks were not meant to be eaten. To make bread from stones means totally changing what something was meant to be into something that’s untrue to itself and to God’s creation.

Bread is what it is. We are who we are.

May we become our most genuine and truest selves in our lives in Christ.

May we become all God created us to be in The Way and Truth of Jesus’ Name.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017

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Branching out in Christ

“I Am the Vine. You are My branches. If you remain in Me, and I in you, you’ll produce much fruit. But apart from Me, you can do nothing,” John 15:5.

As I read several of the many translations of John 15:5 on Bible Gateway, I noticed that the nouns remained the same: Vine, branches, fruit.

The verbs changed a bit, telling us to either abide or remain and then to produce or bear fruit. But, regardless of the synonyms chosen for a particular translation, the thought remains the same:

Jesus is the Vine.

We, however, are not leaves who leave Him, nor are we leaves that turn colors and fall, lifeless, to the ground, leaving a mess for someone else to rake up!

Jesus is the Vine.

We are the branches.

A healthy, well-attached branch grows, expands, and becomes fruitful, but a puny or broken branch that severs itself from the main vine accomplishes the same thing in every translation:

Nothing.

Without Jesus as the base, the core, the root of our lives, nothing we do will be effective in advancing the Kingdom of God.

Jesus is The Vine.

We are The Branches who need to stay ready to branch out! May our lives continue to abide in Christ, growing spiritually and remaining ever fruitful for Him.


Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017

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Trying to keep my eyes on Jesus - with or without clouds

The life of a Christian poet-writer is often clouded with interruptions and disturbances – some desirable, some not!

After a wonderful sisters’ cruise to the Bahamas in mid-March, I came home with a head cold aka sinus infection, both of which kept my eyes looking behind me as I tried to move forward and catch up.

Then, the very day my book of contemporary psalms and free verse poems PRAISE! was to be released by Cladach Publishing, my computer refused to work in total disregard of my plans for promotionals.

As soon as a new keyboard solved my pc problem, I resolved to blab about my book all over the Internet – a smart marketing approach for Christian poets and writers who hope people will actually read what they have written.

New book….
Fun time with siblings….
Head cold….
Fritzed keyboard….

Each caught my attention. Each clouded my focus, and yet each drew me back to prayer and a greater appreciation of the Lord in my life.

Praise the Lord for keeping life lively!

Praise the Lord for scriptures that draw us closer to Christ.

Praise God for speaking to and through us in what we’ve been given to write:

Cloud bank

Around us a cloud –
witnesses
of the faith –

and our faith rising
like cloud wisps
forming Jesus’ face –

a reminder of The One
toward Whom we run

as we leave behind
all hindrances –
obstructions, interruptions –

and open our own
luggage
to be searched by none
but Christ on the throne.

by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2017, poet-writer who based the above on Hebrews 12:1-2, today’s Bible verse in a variety of translations from Bible Gateway

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Keep Your Eyes On

Learning to play softball, most kids need to hear, “Keep your eyes on the ball,” meaning:

• Pay attention to the ball and every move it makes.

Learning to drive, teens often need to hear, “Keep your eyes on the road,” meaning:

• Be aware of the lines and edges of the road.
• Notice what’s coming toward you and behind.
• Pay attention to signs, lights, and the rate at which you’re moving.

Throughout life, Christians often need to hear, “Keep your eyes on Jesus,” which means:

• Read, read, read God’s Word to get to know The Word.
• Notice how both testaments point to Jesus.
• Observe everything Jesus did as reported in the Gospels.
• Pay attention to everything Jesus said.
• Let the Lord be the road-map for each step to take or avoid.
• Stay focused on Jesus, regardless of those circumstances inclined to make faith swerve.
• Pray like Jesus prayed.
• Love like Jesus loves.

Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2016

...

Jesus the Storyteller

In Part 1 of Jesus the Storyteller, academic author Stephen I. Wright gives an overview of respected writings on the parables, which I recommend for biblical scholars and Bible teachers interested in a serious study of the good stories Jesus told. To be honest though, those opening pages provided more information than I wanted!

When the publisher WJK (Westminster John Knox Press) kindly sent me a free copy of the book to review, I didn’t expect such a scholarly approach. As a narrative poet and writer, I mainly wanted to know what made the stories work as a form of entertainment used to reveal spiritual truths. But then, I also saw how the book can help our Christian writing lives.

Although the text continues on an academic level, subsequent sections delve into the aspects of story that narrative poets and writers need to study and employ: theme, purpose, characters, plot, and setting.

For example, chapter 6 “Hearing the stories through Luke” points out that “Luke recounts more stories from the lips of Jesus than either Mark or Matthew. Most of these occur in the ‘travel narrative’ of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem….”

Since I’d never thought of the stories as being set in a larger story on the way, I read with interest:

“We may best outline Luke’s performance of these stories by noting the way he has woven them into his travel narrative as explanations, illustrations, clarifications or expansions of teaching and situations that arise ‘on the way’,” where, “Interaction with others is a constant.” It’s sort of like a travelogue with stories accentuating passage from one place to another.

In chapter 7 “Hearing the stories in Galilee,” the author points out that “Stories have a setting that may be a combination of geographical, cultural, temporal and religious aspects, and more…. This is part of what we mean when we say they invite us into a ‘world’.”

For example, the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:3-9, Mark 4:3-9, Luke 8:5-8, and the apocryphal book, Thomas 9 was set in a world where “the great majority of the population scraped a living together off the land.” And so, the author asks, “what would be the force of the parable’s promise of a harvest?” Although we might typically expect our gardens in the U.S. to do well, farmers in Jesus’ time and locale would have been less certain of a favorable outcome.

Besides this, “For Jewish people, the land had considerable spiritual significance. It was God’s trust to his people, to tend and care for. Israel’s care for her land came to be seen, in the developing tradition, as a mirror of the way humanity had been called to care for the earth….” Therefore, “God’s blessing on the land was a sign of his favour and the fact that the people were acting in obedience to him and justice towards each other, while drought, famine, plague and conquest were a sign of his displeasure and their rebellion.”

Additional chapters consider other parables and places, but sticking with Luke’s presentation of The Sower in chapter 7 might give you a better idea of what you’ll find in this book. For instance, headings include:

Setting
Character
Point of View
Plot
Reflection

The character in The Sower is the only person presented and is also anonymous. The plot is brief and “loss of seed is real. But so is the possibility of great fruitfulness.”

Speaking from that single character’s point of view, Jesus “reveals himself as one who knows and understands his hearers’ situation well.” And, “By drawing a specific scene, however mundane, a whole world of truth may be evoked.”

In the “Reflection” on the parable, the author insightfully points out how “It sounds almost like a narrative rendering of a song, Psalm 126.” More importantly, “It invites thought and encourages hope. The identification of seeds with people in the parable’s application draws out the personal challenge that a careful listener might have received from the story itself, but it does not close down the ongoing signifying power of that story,” which unlike a straight telling or listing of events causes listeners to continue to listen, consider, and hear God’s living word.

© 2015, Mary Harwell Sayler, reviewer and life-long student of the Bible, is poet-author of numerous books in all genres.


Jesus the Storyteller, paperback



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