Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

dark parables

  • Preparing for this week’s sermon begins, not with talk of talents, but of usury—and why Jesus seems to encourage us all to sin.

  • The odd nature of this parable invites us to dig deeper, not into what we think it says, but into what we already know about Jesus’s mission.

  • Late in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells several parables that are dark and deceptive. I’m sure he’s doing this on purpose. It’s a test.

  • We usually read the parable of the bridesmaids as a teaching about preparedness. But it is a chilling challenge to selfish comforts.

  • The Condemned

    The parable is dark and disturbing. It doesn’t play out as we expect. And we’re not sure what it is supposed to mean. But maybe we should.