Kingdom Reality

The parables of Jesus have been described as teaching moments, in a form that lifts up one central lesson. A different way to look at them, however, is from a communication perspective, whereby the parables and the conversations in which they occur can be viewed as efforts on Jesus’ part to construct a new social reality, i.e., the “kingdom of God.”

Jesus is quoted frequently in the Gospels with regard to the kingdom: it is “near” (Matt. 10:7), conferred on the disciples (Luke 22:29), belongs to the poor (Luke 6:20) and the persecuted (Matt. 5:10), and is imminent (Luke 9:27). He tells the Pharisees, “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28). We can assume that his “mission,” the goal of the ministry, is to introduce that kingdom on earth.

Conversation may be seen as the way that our social worlds are constructed. We are continually saying and doing things with others that “make” new realities. Jesus’ conversations, as portrayed by the gospel writers, can be interpreted in this light.

The dialogue with the lawyer in Luke 10:25-40, which includes the Parable of the Good Samaritan, is an example. We can identify several “turns” in the conversation and identify the participants: Luke (telling the story), Jesus, the lawyer, and several observers - the disciples, a crowd of followers, and Luke’s readers. It is a story (the parable) within a story (the Jesus-Lawyer exchange) within a story (Luke’s gospel), and the turns go something like this:

1 Luke: On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.
1A Lawyer: Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
1B Jesus: What is written in the Law? How do you read it?

2A Lawyer: (Quoting Deut 6:5 and Lev 16:18) Love the Lord your God…
2B Jesus: You have answered correctly, Do this and you will live.

3 Luke: But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus
3A Lawyer: And who is my neighbor?
3B Jesus: A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, … Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?

4A Lawyer: The one who had mercy on him.
4B Jesus: Go and do likewise. (NIV)

If we assume that Luke, Jesus and the Lawyer are each trying to “make” something new or different as they speak, what might it be? Luke is in dialogue with his readers, while Jesus and the lawyer are in conversation with each other, the disciples, and the onlookers. From Luke’s perspective (1, 2), the lawyer is trying to make a social world in which Jesus is challenged and publicly discredited. And since he is writing to the early church, he may be trying to construct a religious world that is Gentile-inclusive.

As Luke describes the interchange between Jesus and the lawyer, the lawyer assumes that eternal life is something to be inherited, possibly as a descendent of Abraham. He asks Jesus what must be done to accomplish this, waiting, from Luke’s perspective, for Jesus to trip himself up. Jesus directs him to the law (1A-1B). The Law of Moses is a source of authority for everyone involved in the conversation (perhaps even you).

The lawyer, in a perfectly socially acceptable way, quotes from Deuteronomy and Leviticus (2A) and Jesus affirms his answer (2B). Notice the switching of roles. Before the lawyer was in Luke’s view judging Jesus; now Jesus critiques the lawyer’s response.

In 3-3A the lawyer presses the point. “Who is my neighbor?” One interpretation is that he sought to justify himself in front of the crowd, an attempt to “make” a social situation in which he was considered righteous.

Communication theory talks about culture as well as conversational episodes. We might assume that in this culture not only was the Law highly regarded, but it was clearly understood that “neighbor” referred to fellow Jews – and in the lawyer’s mind, those who rigorously kept the Law.

But Jesus challenges him with a story (3B) in which the heroic role is assigned to a Samaritan, culturally acclaimed as unrighteous. If Jesus were to have spoken to our culture, he might have had Mother Theresa and Billy Graham passing by the robbery victim, with a transvestite stopping to help him.

Low status of a Samaritan would be likely be assumed by the lawyer, the crowd, and possibly the disciples. So Jesus forces the issue by asking, “Who was the neighbor?” and the lawyer is logically pressed to say, “The one who had mercy” (4A).

So we might ask, “Is Jesus using this conversation in an effort to “make” the kingdom of God a reality in the social world of the participants? If so, what does that new reality look like? Here are some possibilities, with the understanding that no evaluation of a conversation is ever quite complete:

Kingdom reality affirms the Law of Moses, but it demands attention to the spirit, rather than the letter of it.

Neighbors aren't defined by race or class, but by purity of heart.

Attempts at self-justification are out of bounds.

The kingdom is intended to include the outcast.

We fall into Jesus’ trap if we assume that we are more righteous than the lawyer.

Choosing Grace

A close friend who is undergoing cancer treatment commented recently that he had observed both "understated, raw courage" in fellow patients, and "mundane grace as performed by those who accompany them." He is interested in how people “make” moments of grace, using the situations we find ourselves in to "make love rather than hate; courage rather than fear; joy rather than terror or defeated resignation."

Implicit in his query is the assumption that social situations are constructed as we go along. They are made collectively as we initiate and/or act into relationships and social situations. To "make" moments of grace assumes an understanding of what grace is. From a New Testament perspective, especially as interpreted by evangelicals, grace is "undeserved merit" towards people by God. That definition is limiting.


In my world grace is what is provided to others who are not so much "undeserving" as they are unable to get what they need to be fully human on their own . It's the provision of the unattainable by one to another, be it love, food, shelter, encouragement, or healing. Such grace may indeed come from God, but my friend cites the presence of "mundane" grace - that which is human and earthly.


The possibility of creating grace in the mundane situations in which we find ourselves may depend largely on how we construe our connection to others involved. If we perceive ourselves to be in relationship with them, strained or otherwise, the door is open to deepening the bond by acting and speaking in ways that address their unmet needs. If we view ourselves out of relationship the desire to act graciously is minimized.


But it is also minimized if we continue to act habitually, especially if our habits are self-centered. Making grace requires empathy, and the williingness to explore it as a new way of communicating.