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

For the women, the parable offered a mirror of family dynamics, not an allegory about God, Christians, and Jews.

What does a parent do to show a love that the child never felt? The parable shows us that indulgence does not buy love, but withholding can stifle it. And so we search, desperately, because our family is not whole. Sheep and coins are easy; children less so. What

The kingdom is present when humanity and nature work together, and we do what we were put here to do—to go out on a limb to provide for others, and ourselves as well.

Our erstwhile merchant first raises questions of our own acquisitiveness.44 We are continually seeking, whether the object is fine pearls, a new job, another degree, or spiritual fulfillment. But each time we find our goal, it turns out to be ephemeral.

Given the late onset of menstruation, the early onset of menopause, frequent pregnancies, and the likely cessation of the menstrual cycle during lactation, it may well have been the case that men—who are impure after ejaculation—were more often impure than women.

Although the combined verses command love of God and love of neighbor, they do not mean, “Just do some good loving, but forget about dietary regulations, circumcision, Sabbath observance, or Temple sacrifice.” They mean that the love commandments become the touchstone by which all other actions are assessed.

Recognize that the one you have lost may be right in your own household. Do whatever it takes to find the lost and then celebrate with others, both so that you can share the joy and so that the others will help prevent the recovered from ever being lost again. Don’t wait until you receive an apology; you may never get one. Don’t wait until you can

If this fellow can experience such joy in finding one of a hundred sheep, what joy do we experience when we find what we have lost?

To speak of loving God and loving neighbor does not require theological precision; it does not ask for a particular location of worship (Gerizim, Jerusalem, Mecca, the Ganges, or Ssogoréate . . .); it does not speak to a particular book (the Torah, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Christian Bible, the Qur’an, or the Book of Mormon . . .). Loving God a