A Meeting of Parables Anonymous

Good evening, my name is Doug.  Let me welcome all of you to the Tuesday meeting of the Greater Jerusalem Chapter of Parables Anonymous.  There’s coffee in the corner.  Before we start, let’s go around the circle and get acquainted a little.  Please tell everyone your first name and a bit about why you’re here.

“Hi, I’m John, and I have low self-esteem.  I buried my working capital in the back yard because I was afraid of what my boss would say about how I’d used it.”

“Hi, I’m Donald, and I hate conflict.  Like, I told my dad I’d help in the vineyard so he wouldn’t get all mad at me and stuff, but then I went and vegged all day.  Man, he was ticked.”

“Hello, I’m Melvin, and I guess my problem is that I’m greedy.  I keep wanting to build bigger barns to hold all my treasures.  I’m told there are more important things to worry about in life, so I came here to see if I could figure out what they are.”

“Hi, I’m Cindy, and now that I think about it I really don’t have time for this.  I just bought some property and I need to go check it out.  Maybe some other time.”

Wait a second, Cindy. Can you at least tell us why you came?  We’re kind of curious now.”

“Oh, I guess have a problem with prioritizing my life.  I keep missing the important things. Like once I was invited to this really big banquet . . . but I really do have to go now. Bye.” (Cindy exits as her cell phone rings.)

“Hello, I’m Harry, and I haven’t been able to buy into that whole Golden Rule thing.  I know folks have cut me some slack from time to time, and I appreciate the gesture, but I can’t seem to pass it along to people who owe me money or whatever.  I always thought I was just a hard bargainer, but I guess it’s kind of a character flaw.”

There are dozens more losers like these, characters with character flaws that resonate through the ages.  They may be some of the best-known characters of all time, more powerful than Superman, more accessible than Sherlock Holmes and more lasting than Sponge Bob Square Pants.

It’s true that the heroes of Jesus’ parables are even more significant, more famous, more preached about.  The kind father and his prodigal son, the good Samaritan, the sower who reaps a hundredfold for his effort.

But it’s not the heroes with whom I can identify, with whom I’d feel right at home if they all walked into the same support group as me some Tuesday night.  Me and the losers, we’d have plenty to talk about.

Like how we all needed something more than a support group.  How we need a storyteller who can put a happy ending on the tales of our lives.

                                         Doug Mendenhall in Soul Food