Suggested session plan
Introductions and opening — 8 minutes
Ordinary people, ordinary lives — 2 minutes
The kingdom of heaven — 7 minutes (question 1)
Microseeds and megatrees — 10 minutes (question 2)
A woman hides yeast — 28 minutes (questions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Closing — 5 minutes (question 8, Isaiah reading)
The times listed are estimates of how a group might move through the study.
Some sections will elicit more conversation, while others may not generate much
response. Each group is different, so it is important for you to allow your
group to dig into those sections that are the most interesting to them. Your
task as facilitator is to adjust the times in order to get through the study in
the time allotted. You may omit some of the middle sections; in this month’s
study, for example, you might skip question 3 in order to spend more time on the
section "A woman hides yeast." The last question of the session is
designed to draw together the main elements of the session, so be sure to allow
at least some time for it.
Opening
Hospitality is especially important at the first session. Since the main
story of today’s session has to do with baking bread, consider setting out a
fresh loaf of bread where participants can see and smell it. Then share it as
part of your fellowship time.
Welcome the group, and spend a few minutes on introductions if the group
members do not know each other well. The opening exercise (see below) can be
used as an icebreaker or as a way for participants to introduce themselves to
one another. In any case, as part of the opening, sing the hymn "Open My
Eyes, That I May See," printed in the participants’ section.
The opening exercise is intended to allow participants to learn a little
something about one another in a non-threatening way. By inviting participants to
reflect on their own ordinary lives, the exercise also introduces the notion
that parables are stories about ordinary people doing ordinary things. At the
end of the study session, the last question will recall the answers in this
exercise in light of what we have learned about the parables of Jesus.
To facilitate the exercise, you may choose to go around the group and invite
each person to answer in turn. Or you may invite participants to offer their
responses whenever they feel ready. Perhaps not everyone will answer, and that’s
okay — for this question or any other.
Ordinary people, ordinary lives
Invite one participant to read the study text aloud.
The material in this section serves two purposes: First, it introduces the
idea that parables are designed to teach Jesus’ followers about God through
stories about everyday life in first-century Palestine; and second, it uses the
story about Abraham and Sarah as an Old Testament example of the way God comes
to people in extraordinary ways hidden in ordinary activities.
<Go deeper:> The Gospel of Matthew
This "Go deeper" activity asks participants to read through the
entire Gospel of Matthew. If anyone in your group has done so, invite her to
share some of the recurring themes or images she noticed. The following list is
not exhaustive, but it includes some things that readers commonly notice. If no
one in your group has read through Matthew’s entire Gospel, you may choose to
read this list as an introduction to Matthew.
In the Gospel of Matthew:
- the kingdom of heaven is mentioned
frequently;
- Jesus is portrayed as a teacher (for example, when he
preaches the Sermon on the Mount);
- Jesus has authority, and he passes that authority to the
church;
- a strong connection is made to Jewish tradition;
- emphasis is placed on the fulfillment of prophecy.
<End Go Deeper>
The kingdom of heaven = the reign of God
This section introduces the concept of the kingdom of heaven and explains how
we might expand our understanding of it by not limiting it to the idea of a
specific place. The original Greek phrase points us to the qualities of God’s
reign, not a location.
1. To save time, you might suggest that each member of the group look up a
different passage and then share the answer. Or, if there is limited time, you
may share the answers listed below.
Passage in
Matthew The kingdom of heaven is like:
13:24
|
Someone who sowed good seed in the field |
13:31
|
A mustard seed that someone planted in his field |
13:33
|
Yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until
all of it was leavened |
13:44
|
Treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid |
13:45
|
A merchant in search of fine pearls |
13:47
|
A net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind |
18:23
|
A king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves |
22:2
|
A king who gave a wedding banquet for his son |
25:1
|
Ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom |
Some suggested meanings of these comparisons might be: God’s reign will
come about even if some try to spoil it (the wheat and the weeds); that it grows
from humble beginnings (the mustard seed); that even though it is hidden, it
will bring about abundance (the yeast); that it is worth giving up everything to
gain (the hidden treasure and the fine pearl); that it is inexorable (the net);
that God is merciful and so should we be (the king settling accounts); that we
should be prepared for the banquet even if we don’t think we’re invited (the
wedding banquet); we should be alert and ready to greet the bridegroom (the
bridesmaids). Parables can carry many meanings—that’s what makes them so
effective!
Microseeds and megatrees
Invite one person to read aloud the parable of the mustard seed, and then
consider the possible interpretations in question 2.
2. Many readers of parables are concerned to find "the right
answer" about what a parable means. Jesus’ own disciples asked him to
interpret parables, and sometimes that interpretation is included in the Gospel
(see, for example, the parable of the sower in Luke 8:1–15, Matthew 13:1–23,
and Mark 4:1–20). However, parables by their very nature evoke different
meanings, depending on, for example, who is hearing the parable, which parts of
the parable we deem most important, and whether we read the parable from the
perspective of one character as opposed to a different character.
Biblical interpreters over the years have suggested a number of
interpretations for the parable of the mustard seed, some of which are included
in the participants’ section. Allowing each person in the group to name the
interpretation that she prefers can help demonstrate that parables speak in
different ways to different people. Some participants might find that they want
to choose more than one interpretation, which is fine.
A woman hides yeast
3. After the reading of the short parable, this question invites participants
to pick out what element of the parable is most striking to them. It will be
interesting to see how many people pick up on which element and why they did so,
if they offer to expand. One’s interpretation of the parable, as noted in the
preceding section, can depend on which element one considers most important.
The participants’ section walks through the parable, beginning with the
yeast. In addition to the passages mentioned in the participants’ section, you
may want to consider a passage from 1 Corinthians 5:8: "Therefore, let us
celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Unleavened bread, in
this typical use of the metaphor, stands for that which is holy, while yeast
stands for that which is not holy. The Passover story and its annual observance
(Exodus 12:14–20, 39; 13:3–10), which is deeply ingrained in Paul, Matthew,
Jesus, and Jesus’ Jewish listeners, is clearly the source of this metaphor.
It is surprising, then, that Jesus’ parable makes positive use of the image
of yeast: a new twist on an old image! God works to bring about the basileia
in astounding ways, ways that do not conform to our expectations.
4. It can be difficult for people to think of God working through
"contamination." Some suggestions to help participants think about
this question include the following:
- Mold is generally considered to be a bad
thing. But one particular type of mold is the powerful antibiotic penicillin,
which saves millions of lives each year.
- A piece of sand or grit inside an oyster does not belong
there; however, without this irritant, a beautiful pearl would never be
formed.
- To the annoyance of many, Jesus engaged people who were on
the margins of society: lepers, Samaritans, "sinners and tax
collectors" (9:11). And yet these outcast people were among the first
disciples.
5. As the group considers these questions about God imaged as a woman, we
suggest that you write the characteristics they mention in response to the
second part of the question on a large piece of paper, visible to everyone. You
may choose to return to this list as the group works on question 7.
6. Because parables by their very nature invite multiple understandings,
interpreters understand the parable of the woman baking bread in different ways.
A few possibilities are listed below. How many more can your group suggest?
- The parable represents God’s activity
going on in the world in hidden but magnificent ways; or, to say it another way,
God’s work is often hidden, but we can be assured that it will be revealed in
time.
- God's grace enables our faith to grow more and more over
time.
- The faith community is not a homogenous group but rather is
"leavened" by the inclusion of people who are marginalized by
society.
- Even small efforts or everyday actions can be
transformative for the people of God.
7. This question, together with the closing, allows participants to wrap up
the session by bringing to mind the things they have learned together.
Closing
8. Give each person in the group an opportunity to compose a brief one- or
two-sentence parable about an activity that is part of her everyday life or the
life of the congregation. In their use of images of daily life, the parables
remind us that God works through ordinary means, bringing about God’s reign in
ways that may surprise us. Keep in mind that some participants may be reluctant
to share their parable or may find it difficult to compose something "on
the spot." As always, give participants the opportunity to "pass"
if they wish. It is important to leave time to answer this question, because it
begins a process that we will continue throughout the study: looking for God in
the everyday surprises of our own lives and the life of our community.
Close with the following reading, which captures the joy to be found in the basileia
of heaven. Divide the group in half, with one half reading the indented lines.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
(Isaiah 55:8–12)
