Titles Matters

 

We have been playfully and prayerfully pondering the Good Samaritan for the last two weeks.  And it is important to note that Jesus didn’t title his parables.  Wait, you think, what?  Jesus didn’t say to the crowd, “I know present to you the parable I have entitled, the Good Samaritan,” pause for dramatic effect.  Nope, he just launched right into a story and people had to keep up.  There was no color commentary from the disciples that interrupted the flow of the conversation.  They didn’t say to the people, “Everyone, listen up here, Jesus is going to tell us about a parable with a life lesson we can apply to our lives like an ointment…you might want a pen and paper ready.” 

 

Nope.  If you go back and re-read the parable, Luke gives the reader (you and me) a clue that Jesus switched from conversation to story.  But for those who were eavesdropping and observing the conversation between religious lawyer and Jesus, they heard the lawyer’s question about neighborliness and Jesus saying, “There was once a man…”  Now, to be clear, it doesn’t take a MacArthur Genius to realize that an opening like that has shifted to story.  It would be like me saying, “Once upon a time…”  You recognize that familiar opening as the start of a fairy tale, so your mind shifts to story mode without a lot of confusion. 

 

Since Jesus didn’t title his parables, who did?  Scholars and Biblical translators added these later.  Now, before we jump to conclusions about conspiracies, let’s take a breath and give ourselves permission to re-title the parables.

 

Wait, you think, can I do this?   Yes, yes you can.  As a matter of fact, it is a wonderful way for you to be aware of how you are reading.  Maybe this is a Parable about the Ditches of Life that we all fall into.  Maybe this is the Parable of Good Intentions Unacted Upon that are part of all our stories.  Perhaps this is a Parable of a Guy Just Trying to do what he can.  Afterall, I don’t think the Samaritan was thinking, “Boy, people are going to know my name centuries from now.  I will trend on Twitter and in Morning Meditations.”  Most of our acts of loving kindness go unrecognized and unrealized.  The nightly news doesn’t show up at my house with a reporter saying, “Breaking news, Sally, a pastor in Sarasota just cheered up his college-aged son and is spending time with his wife.”  Titles matter.  And, and, they also can cause us to read a story in a certain way, they give us a lens of interpretation that can color how we see/read/understand the words.  So, play with the titles of this parable today.  Jesus said it was okay…after all he didn’t title it!  May the words of this Parable of Loving Kindness as the way to full life provoke and evoke how you live your life today.  Amen.