Parabolic Language

Is “parabolic” a word?

Yes, it is, but not in the sense I would like it to be for the purposes of this blog!  We’re in the summer months of Ordinary Time, and especially in Year A (this year’s cycle), we’re hearing a lot of parables about the Kingdom of God.  Jesus told parables to make things easier for merely human minds to comprehend.  After all, the true nature of God, and of Jesus Christ possessing both a fully human and fully divine nature, is hard for us to wrap our heads around.  Some older Catholics might recall being told, “It’s a mystery!  We’re not meant to understand it.”  But, Jesus tries to make it easier for us to try to understand by putting heavenly realities into earthly context.

This past Sunday, we heard about the weeds and the wheat, the mustard seed, and yeast leavening dough.  The week before, we heard about different kinds of soil.  But it goes beyond the physical elements of each simile.  As Father Erik mentioned in his homily on Sunday, It’s not about the seed itself.  It’s not about the soil.  It’s about our souls and the being open to God’s Word at work in our lives.

This is what I would like to call parabolic language!  It isn’t hyperbolic – making something grander than it actually is.  it’s making things more relatable!