Perhaps most would agree that Jesus’ teaching has changed the world. Yet his sayings can sometimes seem cryptic and hard for us to understand.
Yet when we explore the images and figures of speech that Jesus
used we find that really they are all ways of expressing and evoking the same
self-giving love of God. Of course, for Christians this self-giving love is
manifested supremely in Jesus’ own life.
Jesus’ images and figures of speech communicate ‘spiritual’
truths often not in a literal but in a poetic way. They encourage us to take
our own moral decisions with sensitivity and care for others and for the whole
of creation. They show that God’s love will never abandon anyone and that that
love extends to everyone without exception. And they promise a fulfilment of
that hope for justice and peace and wholeness that surpasses anything we might
imagine or describe.
When we put aside literalist, judgemental and divisive
presentations of Jesus’ teachings what remains is the gospel/good news of
divine love - a love stronger than death and the only power that can and will
redeem us all and our disordered world. God bless.
