9/20/15
Chris Breslin
Matthew 13:21-24
Oak Church’s First Anniversary
The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
“Kudzu Jesus” (Raleigh, NC)
Ki-Seki by Makoto Fujimura
“Parables are imaginary gardens with real toads in them. They create an imaginary world that reflects reality.” –Klyne Snodgrass
“His (Van Gogh’s) paintings are color-filled parables of genesis moments, generatively given to us in flesh with canvas and paint.” –Makoto Fujimura
“Racism is like that local creeping kudzu vine that swallows whole forests and abandoned houses; if you don’t keep pulling up the roots it will grow back faster than you can destroy it.” –Alice Walker
“Kingdom mission is church mission, church mission is kingdom mission, and there is no kingdom mission that is not church mission.” –Scot McKnight
“What emerges from generative moments is something new, transformed from its source, something that is both free and responsible to make its own ongoing creative contribution. I have on my farm a magnificent old pear tree. This tree has grown from a small seed. First, the seed died. It found welcoming soul and morphed into a tiny shoot. In time, with nurture, it came to full growth, a thing of beauty at many levels, all on a scale out of proportion to the original seed, and full of generative potential in its turn. The tree provides shade and shelter, flowers and fruit. It might provide wood for warmth or walls or works or art. It might contribute to a landscape or resist erosion. It might inspire poems or plays, paintings or photographs (such as “Ki-seki”). It might spark a scientific discovery, host children at play, or lead a man or woman to reflect on the nature of life.” –Makoto Fujimura
Further Parables Reading
Sowing and Reaping by Emil Bruner
Matthew: A Commentary (Vol 1: Christbook) by Frederick Dale Bruner
Matthew: A Commentary (Vol 2: Churchbook) by Frederick Dale Bruner
Kingdom, Grace, Judgment by Robert Farrar Cappon
The Power of Parable by John Dominic Crossan
Culture Care by Makoto Fujimura
Short Stories by Jesus by Amy-Jill Levine
Reading the Parables by Richard Lischer
Kingdom Conspiracy by Scot McKnight
Stories with Intent by Klyne Snodgrass
The True Story of Kudzu: the Vine that Never Truly Ate the South (Smithsonian)
“The Starry Night”: Biola University Commencement (Mako Fujimura)
