This study of the parables of Jesus in Luke 16 will use the principles outlined for interpreting parables as stories, as defined in Lesson 3. For other information on the interpretation of parables, see also the Introduction in Lesson 1.
LISTEN:
Read Luke 16 several times, focusing on all the parables about money.
Jesus used stories to make radical points about living out faith to challenge listeners who might not have liked the instruction if it had been more direct. So consider what might be the radical message in this group of parables.
UNDERSTAND:
Samuel Lamerson reminds us in his article, “Teaching the Parables to a Post-Modern Society”:
“The ‘earthy details’ were one aspect that helped make the parables of Jesus so strong. It was the fact that these parables were drawn from every day life, yet contained shocking and even scandalous conclusions which made them communicate in a way which straight propositions could not. It is only by recognizing the importance of the details (not for doctrine but for storytelling) that one gets the full ‘reversal of expectation’ which is so critical to the power of the stories.”
ACT:
Allow these stories to connect to your life, and the lives of those around you. What story emerges?
Sojourners y Peregrinas 