Happy New Year...Still?

Here we are at the 2nd day of the new year.  The headlines are rather dreadful. Not much seems to have changed in the world from last year.  The same holds true for my personal life.

So I thought I would take a few moments to meditate on my current situation.  I am a pastor of 3 small church communities which form the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel.  

Did you ever wonder why Jesus spoke so often in parables?  Having no family obligations and no life outside of Church (haha), I have thought about this quite a bit.  This is what I have come up with so far through my studies and meditations:

--Perhaps the Lord was speaking in code so that only those who knew Him would be able to understand.  That way He could proclaim the truth to the disciples without putting them in danger before it was time for His crucifixion.

--Perhaps He used parables because the truth would be too much for some people to take.  That is what happened when He said we must eat His Body and Drink His Blood!  

--Sometimes a story can make a point more beautifully.  "The Kingdom of God is like a pearl of great price" is much more poetic and memberable than just saying,  "Whoa, that place is something else"!

--Stories/parables are easy to remember, especially when there is a twist or a great moral to the story.  


--At times, Christ speaks in parables to those who come to Him but are not willing to be counted among His disciples. His parables give those people what they can receive, given that they will not, can not, or are not ready to receive Him.

         --But to those who come to Him ready to receive Him, He does not need to speak in parables. In receiving Him, those people are also ready to receiving the knowledge Christ can give.



--Or maybe Christ speaks in parables to everybody.  Some people care enough about Him and His Word that they come to Him and ask Him to explain what He meant.  

Here is a parable:  A priest found a parish that was so beautiful that he had to share everything he know about Jesus three times.  

Thanks to my wonderful Parish with 3 beautiful Churches!  And Thank You, Jesus, for unravelling the parable of my life here in my parish.