Often times those of us who what to tell the stories about God and his kingdom feel it necessary to try to give an answer to every single question the stories might raise. Jesus, the Master Storyteller did not seem to carry this attitude. He did not feel he had to explain immediately every tension his stories produced. It seems that when he told a story he allowed the suspense to build and the questions to arise. Frankly, suspense and conflict build interest. Good storytelling will build on that and not undermine the drama with lots of commentary. The after-story discussions with his disciples were where opportunity was given to deal with the issues and questions the story may have provoked.
Jesus was a master of utilizing the tensions and questions a story could produce in his storytelling. Think, for instance, of the parable of the weeds sown into the field (Matthew 13:24-30). Let’s listen to him tell the story as if for the first time. I am interjecting the type of responses I would have had going through my mind as I listened.
Jesus says, "Here’s what the kingdom of heaven is like. It’s like the owner of a field sowing good seed into his field…” (O.K. just as I suspected, God’s heavenly kingdom is purring along nicely). “But later, in the night while everyone is asleep his enemy sneaks into the field and sows weeds among the wheat, then he leaves.”…"(Hang on? Who is this enemy? What’s he doing in this story?)” “When the wheat sprouts and grows, the weeds pop up too. The farm hands say, “What’s going on? You sowed good seed into this field, what are all these weeds doing here?” "(Now there’s a good question, maybe we’ll get some answers here.)” The owner answers, “an enemy has done this.” “(Yeah, we already know that, but what’s he doing in this story? This sounds a little too much like my own story now.)” The farm hands say, “All right then, do you want us to start pulling up these weeds?” “(Right on! Let’s deal with this problem right now and get it over with.)” The owner answers, "no!”… "(‘No! What do you mean ‘No’?)…” “You might uproot the wheat along with the weeds, let them grow together. Come harvest time I will tell the harvesters to bundle up all the weeds for the fire, then they will gather the wheat into my barn.” "(Now that has a serious ring to it, I wonder how this is supposed to apply to my life...?)”
The story is so intriguing, so unsettling, so close to home, that you are left hoping for another story shedding more light on the subject. As a result the door remains open even among the listeners who aren’t at all sure they want to believe what they are hearing. At the same time those who genuinely desire to understand more about the kingdom of heaven receive further light and understanding as they interact with and dialogue about the story.
