By Timothy Peoples
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a coming-of-age novel that follows the life of Janie Crawford, an African American woman in early 20th-century Florida, as she seeks love, independence and a sense of self.
The story begins with Janie returning to the town of Eatonville after a long absence. She shares her life story with her friend Pheoby, reflecting on the events that shaped her. Janie’s journey is marked by three marriages. The novel ends with Janie returning home, content and at peace, having finally found her own voice and identity. Through Janie’s story, the novel explores themes of love, gender roles, independence and the power of self-realization.
It is my favorite book of all time. The imagery is as if Hurston writes mind pictures to tell this story of Janie. I think I might pass this book out to people more than the Bible. It always stays on my shelf and is a story that has been meaningful in my own life.
Story or narrative is so important to all of us. My story, your story, the world’s story matters, and how we tell it matters too.
This is true for the Bible as well. While most of the Bible is written in narrative format, Jesus used another format to describe his stories in a different way, through parables. Parables are short, simple stories that are meant to teach a moral or spiritual lesson. They often use everyday situations or common social interactions to make their messages relatable and easy to understand. Rather than stating the lesson directly, parables encourage the reader or listener to think deeply and interpret the meaning for themselves. They often include symbolism, where characters or events represent larger ideas or values.
For the month of September, we will be doing a series on the parables in the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel of Matthew contains 23 parables, 11 of which are unique to this Gospel. Matthew’s audience is different than that of Luke or even Mark, and as he shares these stories he does so in a way that is meaningful in the context of the people he is serving.
It is my hope that these four weeks are meaningful to us and better our understanding of the kingdom of God. Together let us read, hear and be part of the story of the Wise and Foolish Builder, the story of the Weeds and the Wheat, the story of the Wandering Sheep and the story of the Workers in the Vineyard. And may these stories give new life and perspective to each of us.