New book by Bishop Emeritus

TOTOWA  The world has never known a more masterful storyteller than Jesus. He filled his parables with striking characters like the Good Samaritan, images like the mustard seed and phrases like the one about “hiding one’s light under a bushel.” They are so memorable that we still refer to them 2,000 years after he spoke them in his pubic ministry.

Yet, Bishop Emeritus Arthur Serratelli writes in his latest book that Jesus called on his one-of-a-kind literary skills to do more than impart a moral or religious ideal or spin a good tale. Instead, Christ used his numerous parables to announce the arrival of the kingdom of God — on earth and in heaven — and invite his followers into a loving relationship with their Lord, the Bishop writes in The Parables of Jesus: Invitations to Grace, published by Catholic Book Publishing Corp here.

In his own easy-to-read style, Bishop Serratelli devotes 12 of the chapters to an individual parable, allowing him to examine each one more in depth. He notes that Jesus, a man of immense joy, infused his stories with joy to reflect the great joy of the kingdom of God that he was announcing to his followers — and the world. Christ spoke with authority but also captured the listeners’ imagination with word pictures, anecdotes, and dramatic stories, filled with contrast, exaggeration, humor, and surprise. Jesus populated his parables with characters that his Jews audience could relate to: farmers, shepherds, aristocrats, religious and political leaders, and laborers, Bishop Serratelli writes.

“Of all Jesus’ teachings, the parables are the most striking. These brief narratives have been enriching the lives of generation after generation,” Bishop Serratelli writes in Parables, his fifth book. “They are thoroughly original. In telling these stories, Jesus is the master storyteller, able to ignite the imagination of a child as well as tease the mind of the scholar,” he writes.

Over the course of 176 pages, Bishop Serratelli explores the Parable of the Patch and the New Wine, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, the Parable of the Two Sons, the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, the Parable of the Tower of Siloam, the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree, the Parable of the Narrow Door, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, the Parable of the Great Banquet, and the Parable of the Useless Servant. The Bishop defines the parables as “short narratives, taken from the lives of common people and from nature that capture the attention of the listeners and gently tease them into making a judgment or acknowledging a truth that impacts their lives.”

Jesus also used his parables to touch on serious issues, such as hypocrisy, greed, mercy, forgiveness, repentance, obedience to God’s will, justice, and love, the Bishop writes.

In them, Jesus introduces us to a diverse cast of characters, such as the rich man in the Parable of Dives and Lazarus (Lk 16:19–31); the poor woman, who loses a single coin (Lk 15:8–10); villains such as the unmerciful servant (Mt 18:23–35); and heroes worthy of imitation such as the father of the prodigal son

(Lk 15:11–32). A keen observer of the physical world, he saturates his teachings with images of the Galilean countryside, such as a bird swooping down to eat newly planted seed, wolves among sheep, and whitened sepulchers. Also, Jesus came from a cultural environment that delighted in using figurative language, the Bishop writes.

“With an economy of words, the parables convey a wealth of ideas in a way that can be understood and remembered,” Bishop Serratelli writes. “Nowhere do we find Jesus citing another rabbi. His teaching is absolute, because his authority is sovereign … His word alone called forth Lazarus from his tomb. His word can raise us up from our sins now and from the grave on the last day,” he writes.

In the book, Bishop Serratelli examines one of Jesus’ most enduring images in the Parable of the Mustard Seed. He inspires his disciples by comparing the kingdom of God to a mustard seed “that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.” He continues, “But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the greatest of all plants, and it puts forth large branches so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” (Mk 4:30–32). He sought to give hope to his small band of disciples by telling them that he is bringing about the kingdom of God that extends its borders beyond Israel, he writes.

“The world so often stands against teachings of Jesus and his Church. Yet the Church continues to grow. Cut down, she rises again, converting opposition into opportunity and enemies into friends. Each day, the Church is becoming a home, a place of refuge, for all people of every race and nation, language and culture — all by the power of God working within her,” Bishop Serratelli writes.

Ultimately, Bishop Serratelli emphasizes in The Parables of Jesus: Invitations to Grace that, in the midst of a sea of continual societal change, Christ remains “the true light which enlightens everyone coming into the world” (Jn 1:9). Every age continues to find new and deeper interpretations of the Parables, challenging every generation, the Bishop writes.

“These narratives crack the shell of mundane reality to expose the divine in the human, the supernatural in the worldly,” Bishop Serratelli writes. “The parables expose in literary form that same love beckoning all to enter the kingdom of heaven … These are not stories to be read and then tossed aside, but invitations to enter into a deeper union with God who is love,” he writes.

Bishop Serratelli’s editor at Catholic Book Publishing Corp., Emilie Cerar, told The Beacon that the author’s writings draw from his considerable experience as a former seminary professor, and as a Scripture scholar and homilist.

“The Bishop keeps readers interested by zeroing in on what’s appealing to people in an appealing way,” Cerar said.

Happy with the new book, Bishop Serratelli, said, “I want to help people understand the parables better and draw fresh insights about them for their own lives.”

See the ad for Catholic Book Publishing Corp. on Page 4 of this issue of The Beacon for information about ordering The Parables of Jesus: Invitations to Grace and other books by Bishop Serratelli.