"The Parables of Jesus"

Dr. Audrey West

The parables of Jesus are the profound "ah ha!" stories. Their characters include ordinary people engaging in everyday activities, but the plot-lines take a surprising twist: a scoundrel is welcomed home, a much-feared foreigner offers aid, and a farmer plants a tiny seed that grows larger than any mustard plant known to humankind. It is easy to miss these "everyday surprises" because we have heard the parables so often that we think we know everything they say. Audrey's presentations will encourage us to engage the parables with fresh eyes and ears, as we listen anew for the heavenly promises of God wrapped up in these earthly stories. Bring your experience, your insight, and your willingness to be engaged (and perhaps even changed!) by these stories of the One who is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb 13:8), even as he "is making all things new" (Rev. 21:5).

Dr. Audrey West (M.Div., Ph.D.) served from 2000-2008 as Associate Professor of New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where she continues to teach occasionally in the Doctor of Ministry program. A former swim coach and director of youth ministries, Audrey is an energetic teacher and engaging author, whose essays on biblical themes have appeared in national magazines ranging from Christian Century to Lutheran Woman Today, as well as in preaching commentaries such as Feasting on the Word and New Proclamation. Audrey is the recipient of the Associated Church Press "Award of Excellence" (its top honor) for her 2004 study on the parables, "Everyday Surprises: The Parables of Jesus," published by Lutheran Woman Today. She currently resides in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where she and her husband, plus two cats and a dog, try to keep their eyes open for whatever new things God might have in store.