This week Roots is continuing our new teaching series on the parables of Jesus called “Ears to Hear.” We’re taking another look at these enigmatic stories with an ear for what they might be saying to us now. Jesus told these parables as a way of drawing people in, and as a way of shifting paradigms. You see, not only are we daily being formed by the practices in which we participate, we are also daily being formed by the stories which we inhabit.
This week, Pastor T. C. will be contrasting the parable of Jesus which is often called “The Good Samaritan” with a modern day story called “The Snake” which has been used to invite people into a very different world—one of fear and discrimination. The stories we inhabit have a profound impact on the way we live and the choices we make. Are we living into the story of God’s redemptive mission in the world, the Reign of God? Or, are we living into a story of protectionism and xenophobia?