Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi

DVD & Book Series by Amy-Jill Levine

Sundays, August 6 – September 10

9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Havighorst Lounge and Zoom

Discussion led by Pastor Megan

Childcare and refreshments always provided

Jesus was a skilled storyteller and perceptive teacher who used parables from everyday life to effectively convey his message and meaning. Life in first-century Palestine was very different from our world today, and many traditional interpretations of Jesus’ stories ignore this disparity and have often allowed anti-Semitism and misogyny to color their perspectives.

In this wise, entertaining, and educational series, Amy-Jill Levine offers a fresh, timely reinterpretation of Jesus’ narratives. In Short Stories by Jesus, she analyzes these “problems with parables,” taking readers back in time to understand how their original Jewish audience understood them. Levine reveals the parables’ connections to first-century economic and agricultural life, social customs and morality, Jewish scriptures and Roman culture. With this revitalized understanding, she interprets these moving stories for the contemporary reader, showing how the parables are not just about Jesus, but are also about us—and when read rightly, still challenge and provoke us two thousand years later. 

If joining us on Zoom, register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqdO-opj0tG9wEhUtbK3hqaYOV8JlbTVIa